Besotted
by Blackstory
Summary: Arc loves Luneth. Luneth loves Arc. neither has any idea that the other returns his feelings. Several NON RELATED stories within a story, all LunethxArc. Shounenai, slash, yaoi, whatever you want to call it.
1. Heartache

This is my attempt to expand the Luneth/Arc fandom. It's so rare it makes me cry. The fact that said pairing is the shounenai pairing that I've gained interest for far beyond the interest for other shounenai pairings. I'm hoping this to be multi chaptered, and would like at least one review every two chapters. I'd normally ask for more, but I know the fandom is limited...soo...yeah. Don't like it, don't read it. No flames please.

**xx(name)xx - POV change**

_xxxx - scene change/time skip/both_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Warriors are not needed when there is no war. In times of peace, a warrior will lay back and live his life where he wants to. And when those warriors are a certain four, they would settle down in the place from whence they came. Refia, after toils of blunted weapons, had reluctantly agreed to seek mastery in blacksmithing. Ingus had proudly rejoined King Sasune's army on active duty. If he felt any emotions over separation, he didn't show them. Then again, Ingus had always been good at hiding his emotions.

And then there was the last two. Luneth and myself. I wondered if children would still bully me in Ur, even though I had become rather famous, along with the others. I wondered if life would be better, now that I'd made something out of it. I felt rather reluctant to return, since the simple cruelty of other children had made me the shy person I was, and I'd hate to see myself get worse.

But Luneth returned to Ur. Nothing else said, that was a good enough reason for me to return as well. Luneth was, and is my best friend. I go where he goes, but I can't help but compare myself to a helpless puppy, with no choice but to go along with his owner.

And the leash that pulled me along was made of more than friendship. For a long, long time, even before this 'Warrior of Light' fiasco started, I have been in love with my best friend. Here, where I sat on a small, soft-grassed hill, I rested my chin on my knees, arms drawn around them. I sighed. How much would I be bullied, I wondered, if people found out I was incapable of loving anyone except my best friend? A male? Worse still, the bullying would come with no one to stop it, because Luneth would be too disgusted with me to be my friend.

So I do not tell. I try to keep every detail from Luneth that could give him a clue. I have a feeling that both Refia and Ingus know. They've probably noticed the little things I can't hide, the little things that Luneth is so used to that they don't seem out of the ordinary for him. They look at me when I stutter replies to Luneth's questions, trying desperately to hide my face. And they look slightly...pitying. A knowing glint in their eyes tells me what they are pitying, but they also seem to look at Luneth in the same way, too.

Luneth has these little quirks which I don't understand, but I feel I should. He sometimes seems uneasy around me, and once his eyes assume a nervous glimmer he usually excuses himself and heads somewhere lonely. I think it's because he finds it difficult to be around me, because I'm such a bad friend. Sometimes in our travels, when we've been eating around the campfire, I'm always the last to finish, and when I do, sometimes I see Luneth looking at me with a strange expression. Similar to his expression when he'd seen a very powerful sword in a shop, wanted it, but not had enough money to buy it. Only stronger, and different somehow. I couldn't think why he'd be looking at me like that at all, but he always looked away, seeming startled, whenever I caught him looking at me. Refia and Ingus always seem amused when this happens, but strangely sympathetic. I don't understand this, either.

I sighed again. Gustily. Why did things have to be so complicated?

"Hey, Arc! What you doing?" A cheerful, overly familiar voice asked from behind me.

"N-nothing!" I squeaked in reply, sounding quite strangled in my shock. I'd not prepared my rather weak 'Hide my feelings from Luneth' shield, so was unable to stop the light flush that passed over my face, and I dipped my head, hoping to shadow it. I nervously shot my eyes in Luneth's direction, breath hitching in my throat. He always looked...well, for lack of overly descriptive words, perfect. I had no idea how it was possible to run around killing monsters and not get any blemishes. Seriously, most people get a scar or two when going to war, didn't they? I conveniently didn't notice that I'd somehow avoided said scarring as well.

Apparently, Luneth had noticed my shyness, and immediately decided to inquire. "Hey, what's wrong?" He had a small flicker of that hungry, longing look in his eyes again. Luneth didn't appear to notice.

"N-nothing...I'm fine..." I knew that Luneth wouldn't buy it, but nor would he pry. He was nice like that, he did respect a person's privacy. I was critically aware of Luneth sitting down beside me.

"Refia and Ingus are in town." He commented. "They never really got the time to see much of Ur, so they're staying at the inn instead of just visiting." Luneth grinned impishly. Under the cover of my fringe, I blushed. "Personally, I've found it hard to sleep anywhere except outside. We've been traveling so much that I'm just used to sleeping under the stars." Luneth waved his hand towards the sky, which was in the cycle of dusk, the sunset darkening and disappearing into shadow. There was a short silence, before I timidly replied.

"Me too. I s-slept out here yesterday." I inwardly praised myself for not stuttering too much. I was startled to see Luneth brighten so much he was practically throwing off light.

"You planning to tonight?" Luneth asked. I timidly nodded. My silver-haired friend jumped to his feet. "Great!" Luneth declared. "I'll join you. I'll go get firewood!"

And before I knew what had happened, Luneth was darting off to the forest. I stared into the sky for a moment, then sighed. I clutched the area around my heart, desperately trying to suppress the throbbing pain of longing that never went away. I'd learnt long ago that heartache could be just as painful as any wound. Clutching harder, a single tear dropped from the corner of one eye. It was all I could do to stay sane, after so long of this pain. I sat there in the darkening night, watching the nearly full moon rise, and trying endlessly to ignore the endless heartache. How long could I live like this? How long until I wasted away, pining for what I loved too much to claim? Bitterly, I smiled. I could faintly feel my ribs sticking out more than the norm. No one would notice, I always hid beneath my loose clothes that failed to give away my weakening state.

Before it started happening, i'd never believed that love could kill a person. Now, I accept it, and I think that Luneth will be better off without me. I still sat, motionless, when Luneth returned, shooting a small greeting at me. I gave a murmur in reply, moving only to flinch at the sudden pang in my heart. I couldn't understand it. How could I be so hopelessly in love that it hurt like this to hide it? How could heartache make food seem meaningless, even life itself? When did I fall so far? I was gratefully aware of the fire being lit with an underpowered spell beside me. Luneth settled next to me, the space in between myself and the fire. I dipped my head more, trying to hide the blush that inconveniently arrived whenever Luneth did. Out of the corner of my eye, Luneth seemed very briefly flustered, the nervous look in his eyes as well as the longing one.

I studied it closely, but was unable to interpret it. Again.

"Arc." Luneth began beside me. "You've been acting strange recently. You're not eating much, at all. I think It's got worse since the end of the fighting. I want to know what's wrong." Luneth was close. Too close for my 'hide-my-feelings' side, but said feelings were very pleased to have Luneth so near, and proceeded to make my belly do flip-flops for a good while.

"Nothing is wrong. I'm fine." I insisted quietly. Luneth shifted a little closer, resulting in another inconvenient heart-pang. I had no doubt that Luneth saw the wince.

"I don't believe you, but I'll leave it alone for now, Arc." he sighed. I felt a pull of gratitude, and gave a small nod. feeling suddenly tired, I shifted a little further away from Luneth, and laid down on the soft turf, sighing.

"Good night." I murmured. I saw Luneth's eyes lingering on me, careworn and etched with worry.

"Good night." Luneth replied wearily. I'd closed my eyes, and was drifting off, when I felt smooth skin trail over my hand. While no one particularly knew it, I was a master at being awake and seeming to be asleep. I could have my eyes open enough to see out of them, but they'd be closed enough for no one to realize that I was watching. At the moment, Luneth was sitting with his knees bent in front of him, and one arm around them. The other was extended towards me, with a finger trailing absentmindedly along my hand. Luneth was gazing at the moon, and with my undetectable sight, I saw his eyes turn to me, and he seemed to notice for the first time what his hand was doing. He immediately drew it back, with a guilty look drenching his face, as if he'd done something wrong. He sighed, and continued staring into the sky. I wasn't a fool, and so I found it easy to detect the pure sorrow in his eyes.

His heart-splitting sadness seemed so familiar, as if I should easily recognize its cause. But I couldn't, and I found myself worrying anxiously about my friend. I carefully kept my breathing even and relaxed, as a sleeping person would, and continued trying to place his expression. It was causing me sadness too, since I really didn't want the person I loved being unhappy. Unsuccessfully, I tried to block the image of Luneth's broken eyes, which was quickly paired with an image of my own reflection in the river, the image oddly alike Luneth's in its sadness. I pushed the images away, and noticed that Luneth was certainly not becoming any happier. Trying to offer some source of comfort, I shuffled closer to him 'in my sleep'. He stiffened considerably, but then relaxed. I was pleased to see a small smile pass over Luneth's face. Then he fixed his unusual violet eyes on myself. They were surprisingly warm, and it contained the expression of slight desperation and no small amount of longing. the expression that was appearing more and more often.

"Arc, my friend..." I perked up. He was whispering something to me that I was obviously not supposed to hear, due to me being 'asleep'. "You're driving me _insane_." I didn't miss the disturbing hungry look that he'd added to his expression, all focused uncomfortably upon me. How was I driving him insane? Was I really that annoying? The fact that his expression remained warm when saying it declined the possibility of my annoyingness causing it. Luneth sighed, and laid down in the grass beside me, eyes still open and looking upwards. He was stroking my hand again. Perhaps unintentionally, but why would a subconscious action involve stroking the hand of your best friend? Honestly, I didn't mind. The inevitable feelings I had for Luneth made me quite enjoy it, actually. And so, like that, I fell asleep for real.

_xxxx_

**xxLunethxx**

I woke up the next morning surprisingly warm, which was strange, since the fire would be out by now. My eyes darted to my side, and I noticed grimly that Arc was right next to me. After some inspection, I deduced that I'd done a bit of shuffling and so had Arc, and we'd ended up in a disconcertingly snuggly position. Arc seemed to have buried his face in my shoulder. I swallowed, fighting the blush, and lost. It was usually Arc's job to do the entire-face blushes, but it seemed I had one of my own now.

Being in love with your best friend was very difficult. Especially when said best friend was (and still is) attractive and likable to every detail. His shy personality is rather endearing. But for now, my main focus was removing the blush from my face. I eventually succeeded, sighed, and was still. I didn't want to move, in case I'd wake Arc. Though I can't deny that my eyes were constantly fixed on him. And so, when Arc woke up, he saw me looking at him from a strangely small distance. It was then that Arc realized what position he was in, and turned completely _red._ All his face and neck, actually. He yelped, and zipped a meter or so away, sitting down there and looking supremely embarrassed.

"S-sorry!" He squeaked. My stomach proceeded to twist and flip. I was getting very annoyed with that stomach. Yes, I found his personality and shy disposition attractive, and dare a male say it,_ cute._ I did feel sorry for poor Arc though, he was looking very flustered and appeared to be hyperventilating slightly. But he also looked...scared. Why would Arc be scared of me? That thought was quite saddening. I didn't want to scare my best friend, who inevitably, was also my love interest. I put on a warm smile, and dismissed it.

"It's okay. Don't worry." I waved it off. Arc blinked.

"You're not mad at me?" he asked, sounding faintly surprised. I felt mildly offended. Mad at _Arc? _For _unintentional snuggling?_ Hell, he'd be happy with a lot more than _snuggling._ But naturally, because Arc probably wasn't gay, I'd have to be content.

"Of course not. Why would I be?" I asked. Arc shuffled uncomfortably.

"It's- ...Never mind." Arc broke off. I frowned, and walked towards him, sitting down next to him. Arc's expression blanked, but certainly not entirely.He's never been very good at hiding emotions.

"Arc." I said firmly. "You are scared of me. I want to know why."

Arc blinked. "Scared of you...?"

"Just now, you looked scared. I-" My expression wavered. To anyone else, I suppose I'd have looked stricken. "I don't want my closest friend scared of me."

"Luneth-" Arc broke off, and started again. "I'm not scared of _you._"

"Then what were you scared of?" I asked, feeling horrid for upsetting Arc. he didn't mind a bit of light teasing, but actual fear was not welcome.

"Just of- well, you know." My expectant stare told him otherwise. Arc sighed. "I thought you were gonna de-friend me." I blinked in disbelief. Arc was more insecure than he'd thought. Way more.

"Because of an accidental _cuddle?"_ I asked incredulously, noting the resulting blush to think about later. "Arc, you're my _best friend._ It's been that way ever since we were kids, and hasn't changed. I'm not going to suddenly not want you as a friend because we shifted in our sleep- you could become a Warrior of Darkness and I'd still be your friend." I meant it, too. I'd never fight Arc, loyalty to him was first and foremost. I bloody _loved_ the guy, to the point of insanity. It was getting unbearable to simply withhold my feelings. Really, it was all I could do to restrain myself from jumping him.

Arc looked happier. "...Really?" He asked tentatively.

I rolled my eyes. "Arc, if need be, I'd die preserving your own life. Every time some evil enemy was about to kill you. Every time." Arc turned pink, but looked as if he were about to cry. Judging by the...obscenely happy look in his eye, it wasn't because he was sad.

"Th-Thanks, but please don't do that." He said meekly. "Y-you're my best friend. You're not allowed to die." I laughed. That was endearing, but also amusing.

"Neither are you." I told him. I thought for a moment. If he was really this insecure... "And just in case you have more doubts like this... you're a brilliant friend, always have been. I don't think you're weird, at all-" -He'll probably think _I'm _a complete freak if he finds out I love him- "- and nor are you ugly to me, or bad in any way." That should take care of it. I suddenly noticed that Arc was bright red, and looked a little woozy from happiness and embarrassment. Whoops. So many compliments must have been a bit much. But still...one did not get so happy when a friend gave you a compliment... It was nice to have made my love object happy, but it was a little strange to be overjoyed about a compliment. Wow, he really was insecure.

"...Thanks." Arc said, sounding happier than he had for a _long_ time. It was then that I noticed- Arc had been unhappy for _ages_ and I didn't even notice it! Not until he was happy. I dubiously wondered if I was only imagining that his emotional balance seemed centered around me. It was a nice thought that I could be the one to cheer him up easily, but rather depressing if you noted that he'd been unhappy for just about _years._ I hoped he wasn't unhappy because of me somehow.

"No problem." I replied, shooting a look at him overflowing with friendliness and warmth, smiling slightly. If I hadn't been watching him, I wouldn't have been aware of the brief flash of contentment that left as fast as it had arrived. Now he was smiling, a small smile, but a smile which somehow seemed to have an undertone of sadness. Filing it into my 'Arc's disconcerting behavior' area of my mind, I took his hand and helped him up with it, not releasing it once up. Instead, feeling a little guilty, I caressed his hand slightly with my thumb. I wondered how he'd react. He turned pink, looked down slightly, but definitely seemed happier, and the sadness was gone from his smile. "C'mon. let's get back to town." Wondering about it, I gave into emotions for a while longer, simply running a single finger along his hand as I pulled him gently along. I noticed him staring at his hand and mine with incredulity, as if he didn't believe what he was seeing. he didn't seem upset, though, strangely enough.

After a short while, I released his hand, and I saw Arc lightly touching it with the fingers of his other hand, a warm look on his face. The journey through the forests to Ur was spent in comfortable silence, the lack of goblins logical, since we'd killed so many. I knew that caressing Arc's hand was a result of poorly controlled emotions, but I had no idea what the cause of Arc seemingly not minding was.

After a while, we entered Ur, and I made my way to the inn.

Suddenly, my belly rumbled. I grinned sheepishly. "Uhh, I think I'm gonna need to get breakfast before I go see the others. You hungry too?" Arc looked startled.

"Um...not really..." Which was strange, since I'm pretty sure he didn't eat anything yesterday night. Ah well, his life.

"Alright. I'll meet you at the inn later, okay?" Arc nodded rapidly, and scurried away. He was a very nervous boy. I shrugged, and zoomed off to ask Nina for breakfast.

_xxxx_

**xxNo POVxx**

Refia and Ingus were sitting in their room. Desch had appeared to visit around an hour ago. After all, he and Refia were having a not-so-secret affair. Even Luneth knew. Though currently, Desch was using the Inn toilet. That was when there was a small knock on their door.

"Come in." Refia called. She was surprised to see Arc enter. Ingus seemed surprised, before he assumed his I'm-An-Ice cube-That-Doesn't-Melt' expression again.

"Hi Arc! Where's Luneth?" Refia asked excitedly, dashing over and giving him a quick hug. Quick, because Arc would turn red otherwise. And because Luneth would kill her, of course.

"He went to get breakfast. He'll be by later." Arc replied timidly. Ingus snorted.

"At the rate that ignoramus eats, he'll be here in a few minutes." And both Light warriors were stunned to see Arc's First Glare aimed at him. Suddenly, the door to the room opened again, and Desch barged in, nearly whacking Arc over with the door. Desch suddenly noticed Arc.

"Hey Arc! Good to see ya, you little devil-" Desch gave him a playful shove, certainly not intended to do any damage. So naturally, Desch was surprised when Arc fell backwards onto Refia's bed, as if he'd been a feather, and not a notorious Light Warrior. "What the-"

"Desch!" Refia growled. "Why'd you do that?!" She was about to kill her dear boyfriend, when she noticed him staring at Arc incredulously.

"Arc," Desch began. "I know you're shy, and all, but have you even been eating?! You're almost sixteen and you weigh like a bloody three-year old!" Arc shrank back, looking ashamed.

"Are you sure you are not exaggerating, Desch?" Ingus asked quietly, an eye fixed of Arc. Desch's indignant look said enough. Refia 'hmm'ed and walked over, grasping the collar of poor Arc's robe. She pulled upwards to pick him up, and to her astonishment, he was barely heavy at all. She could have easily done push ups with Arc sitting on her, he was so light! Refia stared, blinked, and gaped at the terrified looking warrior. Refia dropped him on her bed, then walked over to Ingus and attempted to pick him up the same way, much to his protests. She couldn't even get him off the ground. She halted her attempt, and stormed over to Arc, who cringed. He knew he had it coming to him.

"Explain _now _why you weigh so little." She demanded. Arc stared downwards.

"I don't...really...eat..." He paused. "...maybe a bit every few days...maybe..."

"For the Gods, _why_ Arc?" Desch asked , stricken. Ingus looked quietly concerned.

Arc said nothing. Refia was scanning her brains for anything important enough to Arc that he'd torture himself like this. The conclusion she came to was unlikely, but had some stock.

"Is it anything to do with Luneth?" She asked, sitting on the bed beside him. His silence was a good enough answer. Looking hopelessly confused, Desch took a seat on Ingus's bed, next to the soldier. "What's he done?" Refia demanded.

"_Luneth _hasn't done anything!" Arc defended. He drooped. "I- It's just..." he looked up at them, sighing. "You know don't you? About me-" he broke off. The light warriors understood.

"About you loving Luneth? We'd be fools not to." Ingus stated. Arc blushed, but quickly returned to looking miserable. Desch gained a look of understanding.

"I-I try to hide it from him, he doesn't know. I've not told him- who knows how much he'll hate me if he finds out?" The other three exchanged looks. They _knew_, naturally, that Luneth would certainly not hate Arc. He'd probably do something far more...affectionate. But they all knew that Arc wouldn't be convinced of that. "I-I don't want to lose him, I _need_ him around...so I've tried to-" he swallowed, and shrank into the shadows of the corner. That didn't stop them all from noticing the glistening tears, multiplying in number running down his cheeks. Arc shook with the sobs, but made no noise.

"I _try_ to...to not...but it _hurts-"_ At this point, his sentences were broken and he was constricting the area around his heart, attempting to stop the pangs. "-I can't stop it- it's like actual, physical _pain_. It rips me apart, and food makes me feel sick...I just _can't-_" he broke off. "I can't." he finished miserably. The others exchanged sympathetic, and worried looks.

At that moment, Desch strode over, his face more serious than they'd ever seen it. "Remove your robe." Arc stared up at him in confusion.

"Desch, what-" Refia began, before she was interrupted.

"We need to see how bad it is. How much he's starved himself." Desch hissed. Refia bit her lip, but nodded. Ingus's expression hardened.

"Do what he says." Ingus told Arc. Arc understood, and knew he would be able to dissuade them. He removed his robe, and under that there was a mythril vest. Those clung to the body- they wouldn't be much use otherwise. And as they stuck to the body, the room's inhabitants could see the outline of his ribs rather clearly. Desch looked shocked, Refia mortified, and Ingus's expression went dark. Very dark.

"Arc." Refia began gently. "If you don't eat, you'll- you'll _die!_" Arc looked at her with a strange, small smile.

"I know. I've lost all ability to eat a thing, now. It won't be long." His eyes traced over the horrified expressions of his comrades, and he began to put his robe back on. "Luneth will be better off without me." His bitter little smile seemed horrible- so _horrible_ on him.

"Arc!" Refia hissed. "Don't you dare think like that! You mean more to Luneth than _anyone_ else does! You-" She was broken off by a distant voice.

"Hey guys!" Came the yell from across the hall leading to the room. Arc paled.

Arc sprang to his feet, and he exited just as Luneth arrived. The other boy greeted him cheerfully, which rubbed off slightly on the dying teen. "I'm going out." He said quickly, and made his way away. Luneth looked honestly puzzled, but shrugged and entered the room anyway. He was expecting greetings from his friends- and was quite surprised to see Desch.

But he certainly wasn't expecting to be dragged in and pushed onto a bed by none other than Ingus, and everyone proceeded to stare at him as if he'd murdered the local princess.

"What?" He asked, defensively, wondering what he'd done wrong.

**xxLunethxx**

I had no idea why they were looking at me as if I'd gone traitor and killed somebody, but I intended to find out.

"What?" I asked.

"Um...nothing!" Desch said cheerfully -_uneasily-_. Refia glared at him, then turned to me.

"You, Luneth, WILL be confessing your feelings to Arc in the span of two days." She hissed to me. I was shocked for a second, but quickly hid it with a puzzled look.

"I don't know what you're talking about." of course I did. My question was how they knew.

"We're not stupid." Ingus stated. "We've seen the way you look at him, the way you act around him. Heck, anyone except a person like Arc, who never believes in himself, would be able to know just from how you look at him."

I stared at the floor. Oh dear.

"And you!" That was Refia. When she is in a mood, and talks to you, it was smart to look at her. So I did. "So help me, if you don't confess to that warrior before tomorrow lunch time- heck, after that there won't be any warrior left for you to confess to!"

"What does that mean?!" I demanded. Refia wasn't threatening _Arc_ was she?

"It's something that you'll have to get Arc to explain to you! Though I doubt he ever would unless you've confessed!"

"But what if he hates me? He'll reject me." I frowned. Refia did not seem sympathetic. Nor did the others. Really, what had happened to them?

"Gods, Luneth, you are stupid." Ingus told me scathingly.

"Hey!"

"You really are, Luneth. Seriously." Desch told me, frowning.

"And I don't give a flying shit what you're afraid of happening! If you don't do it I will get Desch to _castrate _you!"

"Why do I have to do it?" Desch whined.

"Because you're my boyfriend and I said so." Refia humphed. She growled at Luneth, eyes full of evilness. "So, are you going to?" She questioned threateningly.

"Y-yes!" I replied quickly. Refia relaxed.

"Good." She purred. "Make sure you do. Now, I'd go find him, if I were you."

I gulped, and quickly made to escape, darting out of the inn as fast as I could. Outside, I slowed into a thoughtful walk.

_Now...how am I going to go about this...Thank you Refia, without you making me, I probably would have never decided to confess. It's easier when you know you don't have much choice, though I do wonder what got those three all riled up... Anyway, I'll have to take it slow, if I just confess he probably won't believe me: I'll scare him away... hmm...I wonder if he's on the hill? _

And so, I began making my way towards the hill we'd slept on. Rather quickly, I might add. Indeed, Arc was on the hill. He made his way up it, making the poor boy jump when he greeted him. Arc was staring blankly off into the distance a short while after I'd sat down beside him. He was beautiful as ever, but it wasn't normal for Arc to be staring off into the distance. he'd usually blush or stumble over his own words for a bit.

"Hey, Arc, what's wrong?" I asked. Arc became a lot more like Arc upon being asked. His cheeks pinked slightly and he dipped his head, flustered.

"Nothing." He replied hastily. I frowned.

"C'mon, Arc. You can tell me." I insisted. Arc stared at the ground, his cheeks flushed. "Okay." I sighed. "I won't ask. Anyway, how are you?"

"I'm fine." Arc replied timidly. I sighed.

"If you're sure..." I was sure he wasn't, somehow. I sighed again, and laid back on the grass, watching the clouds. Making my move, I brushed my arm across the grass and lightly ran a finger over his smooth-skinned hand. He jerked with surprise, peering at me nervously out of the corner of his eyes, which were rather wide. I smiled reassuringly at him, locking eyes with him and gazing warmly into them. Arc turned red. He certainly blushed easily, but that was something I liked about him. The corners of his lips were twitching upwards slightly as I caressed his hand, feeling glad to do so and not be denied.

_xxxxx_

_In the trees..._

"That is so cute! Mmmph-" Refia had a hand clamped over her mouth.

"Shh, you'll give us away!" Desch hissed quietly. Ingus harrumphed from his position.

_xxxx_

After a while, I actually took his hand and held it gently, still running my thumb across it. Arc looked rather surprised to say the least. He gave a strangled-sounding squeak, but didn't attempt to reclaim his hand. I gently tugged on his arm, prompting him nearer. Arc understood, and while looking nervous, obediently shuffled quite a bit closer, until they were literally side-by-side. Arc, was of course, bright red, but as always, it lessened as he got used to the position. After a while, Arc looked my way and successfully caught me staring at him. No- staring wasn't the appropriate word- gazing at him. Yes, gazing at him. I smiled warmly, and made sure he knew it was for him, looking him in the eye. My poor little love looked close to fainting, but persevered and stared adamantly at the clouds above.

After a long, long while (Probably a few hours)Arc shuffled closer. But as there really wasn't any room left between us, 'snuggled' would be a more accurate word. I was more content than I'd been for a long time- laying like this felt so natural, comforting. Arc, upon using my shoulder as a pillow, gazed anxiously at me, wondering if he was allowed. I smiled at him, nodded slightly, and he relaxed, his face more tranquil than I'd seen it for a bloody long time. My arms were crossed above my head, and I removed one of them to trace gently over Arc's cheek, stroking it continually with one finger.

"L-Luneth!" He squeaked nervously, his eyes wide and surprised. He seemed to be watching my hand with a strange reverence, and so I assumed he wasn't reacting negatively.

"It's alright, Arc. Don't worry." I told him warmly, channeling the love I felt for him into my voice and eyes, and I gazed into his brown eyes. He was like an angel; kind, intelligent...beautiful. My finger, that was caressing Arc's cheek changed its course, and began tracing over his dry, smooth lips. Arc's eyes widened as he looked at me. Evidently, he didn't know what to think. Arc is insecure, I think he has a hard time believing that someone loves him, even if the actions said person is doing are clearly over the border of friendship. Arc was probably having an inner duel, his insecurities vs logic/common sense. I suppose I'd need a bit more boldness to get him to realize.

I looked at the sky briefly, and gaped. It was getting dark! How'd he spent so long here without realizing it?

_xxxxx_

_In the trees..._

"God, I wish he'd hurry up." Refia complained. She was once again silence by her dear lover.

"As do I. At least we know he's gonna do it."

"And hopefully that will prompt Arc to resume eating." Ingus observed quietly.

_xxxxx_

I didn't particularly care what time it was. I turned my eyes back to Arc.

**xxArcxx**

I had to admit, Luneth's hand-caressing was rather nice. Comforting, slightly mollifying the hunger for my best friend's affection. Hand caressing is all very well...as was the snuggling (also very comforting), but the next minute Luneth was stroking my cheek! Though it certainly felt very nice, and made my stomach flutter, I did know that caressing was not usually practiced by best friends, but sense told me that Luneth obviously did not have feelings for me, he was just being friendly. Then his finger traced over my lips! If that wasn't more than friendliness-

Nope, got to catch myself. I might love Luneth, but he'd never like someone as ordinary as me. Soon, it wouldn't matter. Who knew how much longer I could survive without food? Probably a day or so, at the most.

I noticed Luneth turn his eyes to the sky, gape, then return his gaze to me. I shivered. His eyes were practically _dripping_ with warmth and care and _affection._ But naturally, I had to be delusional about the last bit.

"So, Arc, where will we be staying tonight? Here, or do we go home?" He asked me softly. Going home? Going home, naturally, would stop all of the attention Luneth was giving to me: it was the closest to love I'd ever got from my friend, and I certainly didn't want to give it up very quickly."

"...Here." I murmured, eyes fixed on the finger that was stroking my cheek again. I saw Luneth smile, perhaps he liked the closeness as well? Unlikely. He gave a small nod.

"Sure." Luneth whispered, turning his head to whisper it in my ear. After all, out heads were rather close. Mine was resting on his shoulder. His breath tickled my ear, and I shivered, staring at him and trying desperately to keep the love and longing away from my expression. It was inevitable, I loved Luneth, and for him to be so close (and downright seductive) was torture. To put is simply, my best friend and the object of my love was arousing me big time.

Luneth spoke again, and his lip trailed across my ear. "Have I ever told you? Have I ever told you how much I _care_ about you?" He spoke softly. For a minute, I thought I heard a muffled squeal from the nearby trees, but dismissed it as the wind and focused on Luneth's words. They were comforting, so comforting. "To me, Arc, you are the most important aspect of my existence. You matter more to me than anything else..." A small smile graced my features, my heart was beating wildly against my chest. I briefly noted that the heartache seemed to have entirely disappeared, but I didn't get time to ponder on it, because suddenly my head slipped off of Luneth's shoulder, and said boy sat up, bringing me with him. His hand prepped up my head from under my chin, and I was looking into his violet eyes. I just stared, entranced.

"Luneth..." His name came form my mouth with wonder, desperation. The damn boy had completely demolished my 'Hide feelings from Luneth' shield.

"You're _beautiful _Arc. Did you know that?" He breathed, his eyes held the same expression as mine. Longing, unbound affection, eyes misted with desperation for the love of the other.

"W-what?" I stuttered. My sense had just shut down and died. Just friends most certainly did not call each other beautiful in such a way. He could scarcely believe it, was afraid to, just in case it wasn't true.

"You're _beautiful._" At this point, Luneth pushed me back, so that I was on my back and Luneth was above. His hands were gently grasping my wrists, which were up by my head. His knees were each bent and supporting him next to my own legs. Luneth's face was breathtakingly close to mine, his hair (which was untied) tickling my cheeks. "You're beautifulwonderful and I _love _you, Arc." My eyes widened to full capacity. I turned to jelly. He must have noticed my disbelief, my insecurity, for he prompted to reassure me. "I _love_ you, Arc. You're _mine_, I love you and I never want to let you go." His every word was laced with passion and possessiveness, and seeing no resistance on my part removed his hands from my wrists, supporting himself with one while he pushed the other through my hair. His other hand quickly ceased supporting, instead lacing around my back, and Luneth collapsed on top of me. His lips crashed onto mine, and I could _feel_ the long suppressed desire and love that was currently claiming my mouth.

After a second to comprehend what was happening, I returned the kiss full force. Immediately, Luneth used more power, delighted that his feelings were clearly returned. Luneth shifted his position upon me and suddenly the kiss deepened. I was fully intent on kissing my new lover's brains out, and obviously, he mine. In mid-kiss I parted my lips in a primal murmur on Luneth's lips. Naturally, Luneth proceeded to put the gate way into my mouth to good use, and before long we were snogging each other's faces off like a couple on honeymoon.

_xxxx_

As soon as Luneth had turned Arc over and hovered above him, Refia had been glued to the the scene in wide-eyed fascination, her lips parted in the shape left by an 'ooo'. When Luneth collapsed on Arc and proceeded to kiss him, then was clearly kissed back, Refia threw a fist into the air in triumph. "Haha!"

"Shut up, I want to watch!" Desch hissed.

"Pervert." Ingus sighed, returning his eyes to the pair. His eyes widened in morbid fascination. "hang on- are they using _tongues?!"_

Desch leaned closer, peering. His eyes widened too. "Holy shit. They really are."

"Bloody hell." Refia muttered, awed. "They sure hit it off."

Ingus seemed disturbed, but fascinated. "Who knew that idiot is such a good kisser? That's something I could have happily lived my life without knowing."

"Bloody hell." Refia said again. She whirled around to face Desch. "Why don't we ever do that?!"

"Errr..."

Refia grabbed her boyfriend by his clothing and brutally tugged him towards her. "Give me romance or _die_!" Desch blinked for a moment, before grinning.

"Gladly."

Ingus looked on in disbelief. "Are they warriors or rabbits?" He muttered, before excusing himself and escaping back to Ur before the idiots mentally scarred him.

Life was strange.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

This story will consist of many SEPERATE LunethxArc stories, though some, like this one, will have a part two. I'm willing to bet that at this current time, my story is the longest LunethxArc story in the fandom. Yay!


	2. Dark Forest

Part 2 of Heartache will be continued at another time. I don't particularly feel like it right now, since its main plot (Luneth and Arc getting together) is resolved. It will be the main lot for generally all of these ficlets.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The four Warriors of Light had been travelling through a small forest with strange rumours about evolving monsters in there. Apparently, they were mutating and becoming much harder to overcome. That was why they were there: to seperate rumour from truth and find out a way to deal with it if the latter was in larger proportions.

They'd unfortunately been back-attacked by what looked like a dragon crossed with a moth. A long time after the attack, unanimous descision resulted in it being named a Drath. The thing was unnaturally powerful: less like a woodland monster and more like one of the evil creatures in league with darkness. It had hard hide, but its wings were vulnerable, being paper-thin and moth wings. So they targeted those, attempting to gouge their weapons into its mouth when it roared in pain. After much dodging, bites, and near slashed by lethal looking claws, all four of the party were getting tired.

"Dammit!" Luneth cursed. "How can it still be standing?"

"I'd guess it's because of its remarkable defences." Ingus commented dryly, dodging a lash from its tail. Luneth grunted, and his eyes darted to the side as the Drath lunged at Arc. The smaller boy was utterly unguarded. Cursing, Luneth shoved his sword out to intercept its talons, and was successful in preventing it from ripping Arc's head off. He could not, however, prevent the small graze on Arc's neck. The fight went on for a few more turns, before Arc swayed on his feet and collapsed, breathing heavily in shuddering gasps, as if he were not recieving enough air.

"Arc's poisoned!" Luneth called urgently, a wave of distress rising up within him. He shot a low level fire spell at the Drath, which somehow managed to explode it upon contact. Bits of gore flew everywhere.

"I guess it's fire intolerant, for some reason." Ingus stated, before rushing over with Refia to Arc's location. Luneth was already at his side, having moved at impossible speeds to appear beside his friend and scan him anxiously with his eyes.

"Refia! You know the poison-removing spell!" Luneth hissed. Immediately, Refia brought her hands up and attempted the spell. Her hands glowed, and so did Arc, but when it faded Arc was no better off.

"This had to be the time we found out that the creatures here really have evolved a little! great, just peachy!" Luneth growled. The other two unpoisoned warriors wondered at his strange moodiness. "We need to get him to help."

"No!" Refia exclaimed, making Luneth's gaze snap to her. "If we move him too much, the poison will circulate more and his condition could get even worse. He got a really small dose, so he should be able to fight it off on his own." Ingus sat down beside the two of them. Luneth was still inspecting Arc with anxious eyes, as if he could find some way to cure him. Refia glanced at Arc's forehead, which was slightly miscoloured. Arc's eyes fluttered, the boy barely concious. Refia placed her hand on his forehead, withdrawing it quickly with a hiss. "He's got a bloody bad fever! I know how to help those, at least."

"How?!" Luneth demanded forcefully.

"First of all, he needs to be somewhere cool. We'll have to set up a campfire; it is night, after all. We could move him to those shadowy trees over there. They look quite heatless." Refia nodded towards a clump of dark trees, quite close by. "Ingus, could you get some water from that stream we passed? We should be placing a wet flanel on Arc's forehead, but we don't have one, so we'll have to settle for a towel." Refia suddenly noticed that Arc was being dragged slowly and carefully over to the spot she'd pointed out by none other than Luneth. Staring for a second, she shrugged and started to collect firewood, igniting it a while later with a fire spell. After a while, Ingus returned with a large glob of water floating above his hand. A very useful spell.

Refia nodded in acknowledgement, and took a towel from her bab. It was promptly soaked, and Refia carried it over to Luneth and Arc with satisfaction. She'd barely gotten near when Luneth grabbed the towel, muttered thanks, and darted back to his charge in speed normally impossible for a human. She noted the care with which he applied the towel, shook her head, and made her way back to the fire.

"Gods, I've never seen Luneth like this." Refia sighed.

Ingus frowned. "'This' meaning his overprotectiveness, unnescessary anxiety and strange disposition?" Refia nodded. "No, I don't believe you've ever seen Luneth like this. No offence intended, but I am very perceptive, and have noticed similar behavior from him whenever Arc has been injured. It has never lasted long, as there has always been a source of healing nearby. Perhaps you have noticed that Arc gets his own disposition when Luneth is injured, which is addmittedly more frequent?"

Refia frowned. "Yeah, he acts differently. I can't quite remeber how though, I don't really pay much attention to those things." Ingus nodded slightly.

"No matter what his distance, Arc is inclined to stare at Luneth nonstop when he is in states of injury. If Luneth happens to be concious, and Arc is caught staring, he seems to be highly embarassed. If, however, Luneth is knocked out, Arc seems inclined to be quite a bit more closer to him. Yet he never stops staring. The expression of his eyes, if that makes sense to you, will match what you see if you look at Luneth staring at Arc now." Ingus informed. Refia snapped her eyes to the darkened area. Luneth indeed was staring at Arc, and even in the shadows, she could make out the expression.

She blinked. "Ingus, am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?" Ingus seemed amused.

"It depends on what you think you are seeing." Ingus replied. Not taking her eyes off the staring warrior, she replied.

"Extreme affection, and concern far over the limits of friendship." She said instantly.

"Then yes, I do believe that you are seeing correctly." Ingus concluded smugly.

Refia rolled her eyes. "And what is your deduction from it all, wonder boy?" Ingus ignored the nickname, and replied.

"I believe." He started. "That our two fellow warriors are quite gay, and both have feelings for the the other. They somehow fail to notice that each is infatuated with the other."

"Good deduction." Refia commented. Her face turned devilish. "Now, would you be willing to participate in some match-making?" Ingus smirked.

"I do believe I would. It is getting infuriating to be around them and their haywire emotions."

"Hmm." Refia seemed to think for a moment. "These haywire emotions, expand on them."

"Arc has been sad for a long while. I believe he is in deepening depression, having feelings for his friend which he believes will never be returned. Luneth, as we know, is extremely impulsive. I think that Luneth greatly respects Arc, otherwise his will would not have remained strong enough to contain his impulses. Though I have caught him several times poorly restraining himself from jumping Arc. His struggle of controlling his emotions is failing quite spectacularly. I believe that both of them do not wish to give the other any indications of their feelings, fearing the other would be disgusted with him and no longer be his friend." Ingus explained. Refia listened intently, absorbing the information easily.

"So," Refia started. "If we were to place them in extended close proximity, do you think this would lessen Luneth's hold over his impulses?"

"Definitely. The unfortunate boy would likely be unable to withhold the simpler affectionate actions." Ingus paused. "Due to how Luneth appears to become flustered in Arc's 'embarrassed moments' I am guessing that he finds such behavior attractive. Being in close proximity to Luneth would undoubtedly induce shyness on Arc's aprt, which would lower Luneth's inhibitions further."

"I have absolutely no idea how you have not managed to pair up every potential pair in the kingdom. I really don't." Refia grinned evilly. "I have a plan."

Ingus perked. He was good for details, but admittedly no good at planning things. "Do tell."

Refia grinned. "Do you remember those tents we got, the ones that we never used because we each secretly thought it was a pain to set them up? The ones barely big enough for two adults?" Ingus understood. He smirked.

"Yes, I do. I think I understand your plan now. Once Arc is fully restored to his normal health, we should put it into action."

"And if all else fails, we could always pretend that we don't have enough money to pay for more than two rooms at the inn, one with two beds and the other with one bed." Refia said this far too innocently. Ingus smirked even more.

A snarling/squelching noise from Luneth's direction turned their attentions that way. A goblin had apparently attempted to sneak up on them, Luneth had spotted it, and proceeded to explode it in protection of his beloved. Refia snickered.

_xxxx_

Luneth was leaning against a tree next to where Arc lay, watching him carefully for any sign of health improvement/decline. His eyelids had been on the verge of part-open for hours, and now were fluttering slightly. This was generally a sign of increasing conciousness, so Luneth perked up. Sure enough, Arc's eyes opened just enough for him to see his clouded eyes, sleepy and misted. Arc's eyelids were still fluttering, though much less. His features twitched occasionally, and Luneth blinked at the sound of a quiet, weak groan from the object of his affections. Arc appeared to be blinking with what little eye he had open.

"L'neth?" He slurred weakly. Arc tried to sit up a little. Luneth proceeded to fuss over him.

"Arc, you shouldn't be moving right now. Stay still." he chided. Arc did just that for a while, clouded eyes fixed on him. Then, after a bit, Arc stumbled on his knees toward Luneth, promptly collapsing as soon as he'd gone forward. Inconveniently for Luneth's 'don't molest Arc' inhibition, Arc's head had managed to end up resting against the side of Luneth's waist, and the poisoned warrior proceeded to snuggle (pleasantly) close to him. Unfortunately, it most certainly did not help with his self-restraints. His will remained strong though; he was _not _going to take advantage of Arc while he was ill.

Arc's next murmur, albeit unintentional, did not help. "Luf y' Luneth." Luneth seized up, stiff as a plank of wood. He had _not_ just said that. Surely not.

"Refia!" He called weakly. "Arc's delerious." Refia blinked, then made her way over form the reasonably far away fire.

"Arc's delerious? Probably. What makes you think that?" It was then that she noticed Ingus's pointed stare at Luneth's side from the fire. A look for herself and she was barely able to keep herslef from cackling evilly. Luneth was stiff, nervous looking, and had a reasonable amount of desperation in his expression. And Arc was snuggling up to him quite adamantly. Naturally, Arc would die of embarassment if he'd actually done that without being delerious, so Luneth was quite right. Something seemed a little much, though. She'd assume that Luneth would naturally have his desperate expression, but the other aspects of his current mood did not fit the rather insignificant action of Arc, which, by logic, Luneth should rather enjoy.

"He...well...er...said...erm..."

"Luf L'neth." Arc supplemented dreamily. Refia was trying to restrain herself from laughing. She really was.

"Well, as you said, Luneth, he is delerious. No reason to get worked up, right?" Ooo, she loved his expression. "I'll just leave you to him. Tell me if he gets any better." Refia then cheerfully made her way back to Ingus, quickly telling him about the recent events. Ingus had never seemed so amused.

_xxxx_

The next morning, everyone was meritably pleased to find that Arc's fever had cooled and he no longer seemed poisoned. Arc, upon waking up, asked tiredly what had happened.

"The monster poisoned you, and we couldn't cure it." Refia explained. "You had a horrid fever. Luneth looked after you." Arc blushed at that, and distinctly noticed that Luneth seemed strangely jumpy and flustered. For the first time in memory, there was a pink tinge to Luneth's cheeks. Refia and Ingus were, naturally, cackling behind their backs. When the warriors set off, this time for the edge of the forest, Arc wasn't quite fully recovered, and so it took longer than expected to get to the edge of the forest. Arc wasn't stupid, and he did notice how jumpy Luneth seemed around him. When said warrior was a reasonable distance away, Arc went to Refia about it once they'd stopped in a large clearing, the sky getting dark.

"Refia." He addressed her quietly. "Why is Luneth so jumpy around me?" He bit his lip nervously. Smirking at him, Refia replied. Ingus was close, and listened with one eye on them.

"Last night, you performed rather disconcerting actions while delerious." Refia replied. A sense of dread overcame Arc. he wanted to ask what he'd done, but didn't dare to. Refia seemingly noticed, and answered the unspoken question. "You snuggled rather closely up to Luneth. And, later, you quietly murmured that you loved him." She stated matter-of-factly.

Many times before, Arc had gotten embarassed enough to look as if were going to faint. This time, he came the closest to fainting as he ever had, and fell over, face beet red. A few seconds later, and his faded blush (plus closed eyes) indicated that Arc had actually fainted. Poor guy. Though, just because Luneth was not in hearing distance, he would surely notice the person he loved promptly fainting. And notice he did; he was zipping towards them without a second glance.

"What happened to him?" Luneth demanded.

"He fainted form embarassment." Refia replied dismissively. Luneth blinked.

"Why?"

"Because Arc was inquiring as to why you were acting jumpy around him." Refia explained. "He was quite upset about it. Naturally, he collapsed and fainted when I told him of his delerious actions."

Neither Refia nor Ingus could have ever guessed it was so fun to tease the two like this. It was extensively amusing, and very entertaining. Luneth was blushing again, albeit lightly. Still, Luneth rarely blushed. The two plotting warriors exchanged a look, and made their way towards Ingus's bag, in which one of the tents was kept. They pulled it out, and proceeded to start constructing it in the clearing.

"...What are you doing?" Luneth asked.

"Setting up the tents." Ingus replied nonchalantly.

"It'd be a shame to not use them, after all. It's quite chilly tonight, and the tents will help preserve warmth. Fires don't last forever." Refia added. So Luneth just sat there, next to the form of Arc, as the other two constructed the tent, then started on the other one. At one point, Arc woke up, and looked around to see Luneth watching the tents being put up. He squeaked, remembering what Refia had told him, and turned bright red again. Hearing Arc squeak, Luneth turned, forcing himself to act normally, after all, acting jumpy had upset him.

"Oh, hi Arc. When'd you wake up?" He asked, unable to keep himself from staring. That certainly disrupted the normalcy.

"J-just a second ago." Arc stuttered, deathly embarassed. It was bad enough being in such a state, but being in said state around the cause of it was extremely cowing. Luneth blinked, and sighed. He looked Arc directly in the eye.

"Look, Arc. You were delerious, and I'm not gonna hold it against you." at the end of this sentence, Luneth broke eye contact and looked away, cheeks pinkening again. "Heck, I wouldn't hold it against you even if you weren't delerious." He muttered the last part, and it was rather difficult to hear, but Arc managed, and his blush returned.

"Hey! We're going fishing! Start a fire up, would you? Thanks!" Refia called, disappearing witohut an answer with Ingus. Both tents were fully constructed. Luneth shrugged, and began collecting firewood. After a while, Arc timidly began to help. Once the fire was going, Arc sat back against a tree and buried himself in a book, utterly unaware that Luneth had sat down beside him, also resting on a tree, staring up at the sky. He didn't even notice the fish being cooked over the fire, until he was knocke dout of his reading by Luneth, who had announced the presence of dinner. The main topic of discussion over this particular meal was the Drath. How they'd never expected a dragon creature to be so vulnerable to fire, and other things like that. Arc was masterfully silent, listening to the conversation but not joining it.

Once dinner was finished, and the fish remains were tossed on the fire, Refia stood up.

"Right!" She started. "Me and Ingus are in that tent," She indicated the considerably larger one. "And you two are in that one." She indicated the small tent barely big enough for two. Luneth gulped. Arc stared. Both realised that disagreeing with refia would earn them a painful death, but agreeing with her would place them in uncomfortably close proximity.

"isn't it a bit...small?" Luneth questioned feebly. Both tents were directly next to each other, but Luneth feared for his and Arc's friendship if he had to inhabit the small one _with_ Arc in there too.

"It's made for two adults, so two fifteen year olds should fit in it nicely." Refia replied. "Me and Ingus on the other hand, are both taller than you, so we need more room. Good night." Refia said the last part cheerfully, and disappeared into her tent. Apparently she'd placed the tents on an area with particularly soft grass, so no padding was needed. Ingus chuckled quietly, and followed.

Arc and Luneth stared at each other for a few seconds, before Luneth laughed nervously, and retreated into the tent, trying to stay as much to the side as possible. He tried to get to sleep before Arc came in, and miserably failed. Arc came in, sat down on his side of the tent, and tried to avoid looking at Luneth. After the feeling of being stared at for a rather long time, Arc failed miserably and glanced at Luneth out of the corner of his eye. Seeing Luneth with one eye closed agaisnt the tent floor, and the other eye staring fixedly at him, Arc blushed again, and sighing, made to lie down.

_Oh crud, it's his blush again. Why does he have to be blushing so close to me? Crudcrudcrudcrud-_

Luneth tried desperately to get a hold on his impulses. He was doing it very poorly, and thus his arms were practically vibrating, since they were twitching towards Arc and then being pulled back again by Luneth's admittedly rubbish hold over his impulses.

Arc noticed. "Um...Luneth? What's wrong?" He asked nervously. Luneth was practically grating his teeth with the effort. _Bad Luneth!_ He mentally slapped himself.

"Absolutely n-nothin- Oh hell. Crap this." Luneth's curses were muttered into the floor, barely heard. He appeared to be regulating his breathing. Arc eyed the exit and contemplated asking the others what was wrong with Luneth. He didn't get time, as a strong arm wrapped around him and pulled him closer. Arc squeaked with surprise, eyes widening. He was half aware of his heart beating in vastly increasing tempo, mostly aware of Luneth's intense violet eyes that were alarmingly close. "Ever since that little delerious episode, I've been jumpy. You noticed, hm?" Arc's silver-haired friend whispered to him. Arc shivered, not from cold. His eyes remained fixed on Luneth's.

"Only you, Arc. I've been stumbling and stuttering all over myself like a schoolgirl- only you can do that to me." Luneth whispered it with a strange reverence. Arc didn't know what to think."Only you..." Arc jolted, feeling a soft hand caressing his cheek. His eyes darted sideways to look at it. It was Luneth's pale hand, tracing over him as if entranced. Arc was more than happy- this was the one he loved, but who'd never returned his feelings- treating him like a lover! He blushed crimson, and observed the slightly feral glint that entered Luneth's eyes. A primal, hungry look.

Luneth growled, and the hand that was on Arc's cheek suddenly buried itself in his hair, and pushed him quickly closer. Now Luneth's forehead was resting on Arc's, and his hand had resumed stroking his cheek. "I'll understand- if you shie away now. I'll understand- if you don't love me like I love you." His breath was hot on Arc's face. The words registered in the shocked boy's head.

"L-love? Me?" Arc whispered, not believing. Luneth's thumb traced over his lips.

"Yesss, love...Only you Arc, only you..." He breathed. "I have for so long and it's driving me insane. Bloody hell- I couldn't be placed so close to you and still manage to hide it...Just tell me, and I'll be gone. This'll have never happened."

In a rare moment of boldness, Arc reached towards the hand on his face, took it, and stroked it gently with his own fingers. "But I'm not gonna tell you...so you can stay..." Arc lowered his face a little, and brushed Luneth's lips lightly with my own. Luneth appeared shocked- Arc supposed he was sure that he'd be rejected, just like himself. "Just kiss me, Luneth." Eyes ravaged with joy and desire and passion, Luneth did just that. It started off weak, then grew stronger, and soon both boys were writhing around in the tent, barely pausing for breath.

And they were forever unaware of the small hole in the tent, through which two eyes watched. One triumpahnt, one disturbed yet fascinated. One green, and one blue.


	3. Transcendent

Luneth had been acting strangely recently, or so Arc thought. More friendly than normal, and more eager to be around him. Not that Arc was complaining- Luneth's constant presence by his side was a constant comfort for Arc, and also a constant depressant.

Arc wasn't exactly subtle, not when Luneth wasn't looking anyway. He was sure that Refia and Ingus had caught him staring at Luneth when the silver-haired boy wasn't looking, and was also sure that they'd found out the reason. It made life so difficult, but as hard as he tried, Arc could not bring himself to regret what he felt. Arc of Ur was in love with his best friend. And it sucked. Why? Because he had to hide it if he wanted to preserve any sort of friendship with Luneth.

And that was why Arc was rather pleased that Luneth was hanging around him more.

Sighing, Arc put away his book that he'd been reading, and pciked up his back. "I'm going to sleep now, kay?" Arc told Refia and Ingus tiredly. he had no idea why, but they always insisted that he and Luneth shared a tent. Not that he minded, of course...

Ingus nodded. "Sleep well." Refia told him, and Arc shot her a smile before he entered the tent. Luneth was laying down, head rested on his hands, staring up at the tent roof as if in some spectacular daydream.

"Hi Luneth." Arc greeted. Luneth continued to daydream, and Arc smiled a little. Luneth did tend to daydream like that quite a lot, it took quite a lot to get him out of one. Arc sighed, and laid down on his front. "Night."

Arc heard Luneth laying down a while later, while in the hazy-minded state that came when close to sleep. Nothing was out of the ordinary, until Luneth's arm rested around Arc's upper back and slid him easily next to him. Arc became quite awake again, and tensed. Badly. "L-Luneth?" He squeaked, going red. Luneth was also laying on his side, but one of his violet eyes opened and winked at Arc.

"Relax, Arc. Just relax. Everything's fine." Arc was sorely tempted. The position was comforting, and besides, Luneth had initiated it. He remained tense for a few long seconds, then slowly relaxed with a sigh, leaning into Luneth's hold on him. Arc ended up getting to sleep faster than he ever had that night, and in the morning Luneth didn't seem to show anything in his behavior tht indicated anything had changed.

At first, Arc wondered if it had been a dream, but he exited the tent in the area it'd been set up before. So naturally, it wasn't a dream. Arc then assumed that it wouldn't happen again. He was wrong.

from then on, Luneth would pull him close every night. And Arc would not complain. After around three days, Arc hesitantly laid down close to Luneth, not needng to be pulled next to him. He wondered if Luneth would be angry, but if anything, he seemed happy. And so lying down next to Luneth at night became normal feeling as well. Arc nervously wondered whether or not Luneth might do somethign during the day, since he and Luneth were always paired together for fishing and the like. And for a while, the only odd thing between them was the sleep-snuggling.

Then one evening, when Refia and Ingus were out getting more firewood, Arc was reading. Then Luneth had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, sat down, and hoisted Arc onto his lap, ignoring the resulting blush and squeak. "You okay Arc?" Luneth asked in a playful tone.

"Y-yes..."

"That's good." There was a short silence, before Luneth spoke again. "You don't mind, do you?"

"M-mind what?" Arc replied timidly.

"_This._" Luneth gestured to themselves, cheeks colouring slightly. Arc was too red to become redder.

"N-no...I don't mind..." He squeaked. Luneth sighed, in what appeared to be relief.

"Good." he seemed to hear something. "I'll go check how the fish is doing." he gestured to the fish over the dying fire, and deposited the smaller boy back on the ground, leaving to check it. Not a minute later, Refia and Ingus returned with firewood, placing a good bit to feed the fire. "The fish seem just about done." Luneth informed them.

"Great, I'm starving!" Refia declared, taking a fish, skinning it, and starting to devour it.

"Anything happen while we were gone?" Ingus asked, taking his own fish. Arc hid innocently behind his book.

"Nah." Luneth replied, taking the remaining fishes, and walked over to Arc to hand him one, leaning against a tree.

Arc couldn't help but wonder what was going on.

_xxxxx_

In future events, Luneth was very slowly becoming more bold with his strange behavior. He appeared to not want the others to know, so usually did what he did when they were gone, or during chore time. Shortly after Refia had nearly been killed by a monster attack while out getting firewood on her own, they'd established a rule to always travel in pairs.

For instance, Arc had been fishing when Luneth arrived, wrapped his arms around Arc's waist, and asked cheerfully how he was. He always seemed to ask that, before or after he initiated some sort of contact, like the current one.

For a long while, embraces were just about the only things Luneth issued. Then one night in the tent, Luneth proceeded to hold and stroke Arc's hand. This new development certainly turned him red. It was just small things like that for a long time, then one day, fishing, it proceeded. In other words, Luneth updated his list of affectionate acts.

Like he did often when Arc was fishing, Luneth came from behind and wrapped his arms around Arc's waist. Unlike usual, he did not simply rest his chin on the smaller boy's shoulder and watch, he curled his neck around Arc's, then brushed his lips against Arc's cheek before softly kissing it.

Arc froze. _He didn't. _He did. _God! What is this?!_ Arc turned redder than he ever thought himself capable of doing.

"You okay?" Luneth murmured into his cheek.

"Y-yes." Arc whispered in a shuddering breath. Luneth always asked that when he did something new. Probably to see whether or not he'd object. Arc didn't. It was more contact with Luneth than he ever throught he'd recieve.

Up until then, Arc had never really questioned Luneth's actions. But friends, however close, did not kiss each other. _Maybe I'll ask Refia._ Arc thought, head swimming. _She's a girl. Girls are suppsoed to know how to deal with these things. Why didn't I ever think of this before?_

--

Later that night, when Luneth had gone into the tent (he and Arc always turned in earlier than the other two, but got up earlier) Arc went to sit next to Refia by the fire. Ingus was a few meters away, practicing his control over fire. He was currently molding some impressive beasts that ran out the flame.

"Hi Arc. Aren't you usually in the tent by this time?" Refia asked as he sat. Arc nodded.

"Yeah, I am." he frowned. "It's just..."

"Just what?" Refia prompted.

Arc hesitated. "I...wanted to ask you for advice. Girls are supposed to be good at that sort of thing..." Refia blinked.

"Well, what is it you want advice about?"

"Luneth's...been acting strangely recently. I don't know what to think." Arc didn't notice himself blush, nor did he notice Ingus stop training to listen.

"Strange how?"

"Just..." Arc trailed off. "Forget it." He got up, sighing, and made his way into the tent. Refia didn't try to stop him, but gestured to Ingus for him to come over. He did, and settled beside her.

"What do you think?" Refia asked quietly.

Ingus was silent for a while. "I do not have any idea of any abnormal behavior on Luneth's part. Either Arc is worrying about nothing, or Luneth had done a good job of hiding this so called behavior from us."

"Hmm." Refia seemed to think for a while. "Arc is timid, everyone knows that. If he makes himself get the guts to ask someone for advice over Luneth acting strangely, then Luneth must be acting apocalypse-level strange for Arc to decide to do something about it."

"Agreed." Ingus replied. "I beleive we cannot discard the possibility of Luneth harming Arc. Any idiot, aside from our idiot, can tell that Arc loves him. Arc would never fight back if Luneth attacked."

"Ingus!" Refia scolded. "I know you're paranoid and always expect the worse and all that crap, but Arc and Luneth are best friends! Luneth would never hurt him!" Ingus nodded in acknowledgement. "But still...we need to find out what's going on with Luneth. I have a plan." Refia saw Ingus's expectant look. "We send them fishing tommorow, like normal, and spy on them."

Ingus deadpanned. "That's your great plan?"

"Well, I don't see you coming up with anything better, Mr Genius!" Refia snapped. Ingus knew he would die a painful death if he managed to piss off Refia. Therefore he did not comment on the generic simplicity of her plan and wisely stayed silent.

--

While generically simple, the plan worked well enough. They were currently in a nice area, and were using it for training. Therefore, all four warriors knew where the fishing spot was. And so, Refia and Ingus hid in a rather thick-leaved tree, and watched as Arc arrived, followed by Luneth. Arc cast out the fishing line, and Luneth fingered his knife, used for killing whatever fish were caught. Not too long afterwards, Arc flung a fish onto the bank. Quick as a flash, Luneth beheaded it and began gutting it with strange ease. He was literally done in a few seconds, and then threw the fish guts into the water. this attracted bigger fish, like pike, and the two continued to work in astonishing syncronisation.

"Nothing seems weird about Luneth yet." Refia frowned.

"Aside from how fascinatingly coordinated they are. We never really pause to look at each othe rin battle, but those two have been fighting together far before the four of us came together. I suspect they are at the summit of teamwork. They have an instinctive ability to work with each other that I've only seen in some of the old war veterans. they were often brothers, friends who had grown up with each other, or lovers. But they'd all grown up fighting together, no matter what their relationship."

"That is..." Refia struggled to find the right words.

"Strangely surprising."

"Yeah, that." Refia agreed, then continued watching fixedly. She whistled. "Hell, I always wondered how they always brought back so much fish."

"Likewise." There was a short silence, until Refia spoke again.

"I think they've reached that annoying point you get while fishing, you know, where all the fish clear off for a few hours and take ages to come back." Ingus murmured in agreement.

"I always find that particular stage irritating. I am not very patient."

"Neither am I." Ingus stared at her with a 'don't you think I know that already?' look. "Made any observations about them? You always pcik up on the little things."

Ingus was silent for a while, beofre replying. "Ever since Luneth has been unoccupied, Arc seems to have tensed. He seems as if he is expecting something. Body language suggests that he is nervous and unsure about what he is expecting. This could mean a number of things: he is unsure what will happen, and he is unsure why it will/has happened."

"Hmm." Refia hmm'ed. She was brought out of her internal msuings by Luneth's voice.

"You okay?" Luneth asked Arc. Arc's reaction was very strange. He seized up, completely tense, the nervousness in his eyes intensifying.

"Interesting reaction." Ingus murmured. "I am guessing that Luneth's question has been asked before, and may be the initiation for something." Refia gave a sharp nod, watching.

Luneth's violet eyes flashed in their direction, too brief to be sure of. "Nothing today, Arc. There's...too many fish." As if on cue, Arc whipped a fish out of the water, and proceeded to spear a few pike while he recast the line. Luneth happily gutted the fish, looking disturbingly pleased to be surrounded by a splatter of fish gore. After Luneth's remark, Arc relaxed considerably.

"I think he may have noticed us." Refia whispered. "Maybe we talked too much."

"Next time, we use spells to hide our presence." Ingus nodded sagely. "Let's get back to camp. there may be something we can use to our advantage." And without explaining himself, Ingus silently left the tree, making his way to camp. Refia hastily caught up, and found Ingus skimming through one of Arc's books. "This is his journal. I have seen him writing in it. He writes no more than a few sentences every day, probably paranoid about it being read. He words his entries in ways only he'll be able to fully understand. Arc is a lot more intelligent that we give him credit for." Ingus explained. "We are looking for yesterday's entry." After a lot of skimming, Ingus found it, and read it quietly.

_"Today, I have confirmed a suspicion of mine. Luneth indeed asks me if I am 'okay' every time before or after he initiates a bolder form of one of his actions. I believe it is not a question of my wellbeing that he asks, rather, if I am acceptant and compliant to the actions that he...performs. He was...increasingly bold today. I have a feeling that I should know why he is acting like this, but something in my mind is rejecting the thought before I can comprehend it. Therefore, whatever theory some part of my mind has created, it must not hold any credit. I am becoming worried. My days are plagued with nervousness, anxiety, and even anticipation. I curse myself for the latter. I know it is a false thing that I should not have."_

"My suspicions have been confirmed today that while Arc is generally silent to others, he is innately very talkative." Refia declared.

"This is a meritable goldmine of information, considering how little we know about the situation." Ingus commented, placing the book back where he'd found it, making sure that it wasn't even an inch out of place. "Luneth is obviously doing something that is making Arc nervous. These actions are apparently increasing in boldness, which I interpret as becoming more serious. Arc also seems to be unable to accept what may be the truth about the cause of the actions. We will continue spying tommorow."

Refia glanced at him curiously, gathering wood for the fire. "Why are you being so cooperative with this whole thing, anyway?"

"Despite appearences, I do care for the wellbeing of my comrades. This recent matter is somewhat of a concern. A possible threat."

Refia shook her head, exasperated, and smiled.

They had a feast on fish when the fishers returned. They'd literally had to use spells to transport them all.

_xxxx_

As discussed, Ingus cast a shadow spell the next day, which would make them invisible as long as they were near or in a shadow. Also nonhearable, nonsmellable, and so on. And so, as the fishing ensued, Refia and Ingus waited. Then came the break of aquatic activity, in which the fish swam away. they'd forget why after a short while, then would return to be killed. But this small time was sufficient enough for Luneth to do what he'd obviously wanted to do. He approached Arc from the back, decended to his level, wrapped his arms around Arc's waist, and pulled the boy onto his lap. Arc made a muffled squeaking noise, and turned red. Luneth's face lowed to brush Arc's.

In the trees, two comrades were gaping. Yes, even Ingus. "Ingus," Refia began warily. "Is it just me, or does that look very intimate?"

"No, I see it too. According to logic, Luneth's actions must have been of the affectionate sort." Ingus paused, and smirked. "And judging by his reaction, I would observe that our bold comrade finds his comapnion's shyness arousing." He stared pointedly at the shiver passing over Luenth's body, clearly not from cold.

"Wow. Who'd have thought? Luneth's better at hiding his emotions than we thought. I mean, everyone except Luneth knows that Arc loves him, but we never even suspected Luneth had the same feelings in return. My guess is that Luneth's been hiding it for too long and has finally decided to act on it."

"Good for him." Ingus said sincerely. "Although, judging by Arc's journal entry, Luneth will need a very bold action to get Arc to realise. Perhaps we can provide Arc with the advice he was seeking before? ...Prompt Luneth to hurry up, should I say?"

"I agree wth your idea. But for now, I want to see if Luneth will do anything else." Refia stared intently at the scene. Her eyes widened. "Wow. Did Luneth-?"

"-Kiss Arc on the cheek? Yes. Nothing serious, but clearly intimate. I have no idea how Arc is unable to comprehend that his feelings are returned."

"He's just as much of an idiot as Luneth is in this matter."

"Agreed. Definitely agreed."

_xxxx_

"Arc!" Refia called as the boy went to his tent, going to turn in for the night. Arc turned around, stopping and blinking questioningly. Refia made a 'come over here' motion. Hesitating, Arc did.

"yes?" Arc asked timidly.

"You came to me for advice a while ago. And after some careful observations, Ingus and I have determined what you wanted advice about."

Arc doubted it. They were probably deluding themselves... Refia sighed. So did Ingus. This attracted Arc's attention.

"Arc, there is no doubt in my mind that Luneth is completely and utterly_ oblivious_ to certain points of life. I think that every person except him has been able to work out that you love him."

Arc turned bright red, squeaked, and swayed a bit. Refia eyed him appraisingly.

"Now, as for my advice: Blush more, stutter more, and generally act more shy around Luneth. Seem nervous whenever he does anything fairly new that you aren't used to. And no need to keep space between you. You are friends, right? Being near each other shouldn't be a problem. Oh yes, and snuggle. Definitely snuggle." Arc turned bright red, and began sputtering nonsense. "Just trust me! We girls know what to do in these situations!"

Arc was doubtful, but decided to give it a shot. After all, it couldn't cause consequences _that_ bad, could it?

But for now, Arc was too tired to try. He simply curled up next to Luneth, as he did now, and went to sleep.

_xxxx_

"Why do we always get the fishing?" Luneth compained, gutting a fish the next day.

"I-I think it's b-because we're good at it?" Arc commented timidly, his statement sounding more like a question.

"Yeah, I suppose. But why can't Refia and Ingus be good at it too?" Arc didn't reply, but he did flip another fish onto the bank.

Suddenly, a large navy blue fish (and by large, I mean bigger than Arc) leaped from the water and made to attack them.

"Holy cow!" Luneth exclaimed, drawing his sword.

"Th-that's not a n-normal fish, L-luneth. That's a Killer Fish- a monster." Arc told him, stepping out of the fish's range.

"Hmm. Monster fish or no, I'll still kill it." And then the poor fish was gutted alive, Luneth's sword cutting through its belly like butter. Luneth caught it by the back fin. "Been a long time since we've caught an eidible monster. I don't think we'll have to do anymore work today, with this huge thing around." Luneth threw it on the pile with a satified sigh. "We can just lounge around for once." Arc shot an arrow. The enarby goblin screamed and died. "Perhaps I spoke too soon. Good shot, Arc." Luneth eyed the dead corpse appraisingly. Arc blushed furiously and dipped his head.

"Th-thanks..." Arc stammered, going redder at his shyness. He remembered Refia telling him to be more shy...but he managed to do that without acting anyway. He suddenly noticed Luneth's eyes fixed on him lazily. Arc made a small 'eep' noise. Luneth blinked, shuffled over, and hauled Arc onto his lap. In the midst of the poor boy's embarassment, Arc had a fleeting thought. _Why is Luneth twitching? _Because indeed he was. Various limbs belonging to Luneth were twitching rather furiously, and there was an odd look on Luneth's face. The larger boy sighed, and rested his chin on Arc's shoulder, an eye fixed absentmindedly on said boy's face. Arc had his eyes fixated on Luneth, wide and nervous. Luneth seemed to be daybreaming.

"Y' beaut'ful, y'know?" Luneth muttered softly, then his eyes widened and his head raised. "Dammit. Did I say that out loud?" Arc had turned redder than ever before, his eyes were wide as saucers, and he was stammering nonsense. "Guess I did." Luneth gazed at Arc, who was more than aware of it. His blush steadily intensified as the hungry stare prolonged. Eventually, Arc let out a small 'eep', and that seemed to change something. Some primal sort of frustration flickered in Luneth's eyes. "Oh, _damn you_, Arc." Luneth didn't say this in an angry tone at all. It souned more like gentle chiding. Arc, still red, reflected confusion in his eyes. "You don't even know what you're doing, do you?" Luneth asked with a sigh, eyes locked with Arc's.

"N-no." Arc stuttered. Arc was startled to hear Luneth emit a low growl and lower his face so that he was speaking directly to Arc's ear.

"Then I'll tell you." The whisper was low, quiet, and even slightly husky. "Everyday- I take things slowly, I don't want to scare you off." One of Luneth's hands trailed from its position around Arc's waist, to trailing up the boy's side. "But you blush anyway-" Said blush was getting more red. Arc listened to Luneth's voice, hanging onto his every word with deadly rapture, eyes slanted towards his face, wide as ever. Luneth slowly began turning Arc round to face him. "-You stutter-" Luneth locked eyes with the boy before him, who was now facing him. "And you act so damn _shy-"_ He growled the last part with strange, adoring frustration. "-And you slowly pick away at my inhibitions, to the point where I just _can't _control myself anymore-" Luneth wrapped his arms around Arc's middle back, and pulled him dangerously close, so that Luneth, had the boy agaisnt, him face _so close-_ "-I can't control this any longer. This is now, Arc. The point of no return- if you don't stop me now, I won't be able to stop."

"I-I don't understand. What do you mean? What won't you be able to stop?" Arc stammered honestly, his inner feelings having a party over their closeness.(In the trees, a voice muttered: "He is is _so_ asking for it-")

Luneth growled, and his grip around Arc tightened. His forehead rested against Arc's, and he planted a precariously small kiss on Arc's lips, and didn't remove his own as he spoke. "_This_ is what I won't be able to stop-" Luneth broke off, and suddenly seized Arc's lips with fiery passion. Arc squeaked into it, squirming and utterly gobsmacked. His skin was heavily heated form his blush. Once Arc's mind processed the fact that Luneth was _kissing_ him, he then became shocked as to the ferocity with which Luneth was kissing- it was most probably the most intense thing he'd ever felt. Plucking up some meagre courage, Arc timidly kissed back. Luneth growled again, primally pleased, and the part of Arc's mind screaming _'Warning! Warning! You are being used!'_ promptly shut down and died. It seemed Luneth had been waiting for some form of cooperation on Arc's part, because he pushed Arc backwards- away from the river- and onto his back, collapsing so that he was _right on top_ of Arc. No space at all, just laying on top of him, kissing his brains out.

Arc wanted to ask what it was, _why _it was, but all thought of questioning was swallowed up by the satisfaction and pleasure induced by the kiss. Arc gave a shuddering gasp of pleasure into the kiss, and he was not expecting the quiet, soft moan into his own mouth. Arc squeaked again as he felt Luneth's tongue against his lips, gently trying to pry them open. Arc hesitated (for a single second), then allowed entry. He gave a shuddering gasp of surprise as Luneth tongue practically _shot_ through the offered opening and proceeded to explore the space inside. After a second or two, Luneth wrapped his tongue around Arc's, caressing the appendage with desperate desire. _I think he's wanting something._ Arc's half-coherent mind prompted, and Arc shoved his own tongue into Luneth's mouth.

What followed is not appropriate for the rating of this story.

_xxxxx_

"Wow. Go, Arc!" Refia cheered, impressed. "Talk about making out!"

"That." Ingus spat the word, looking horrified, but morbidly fascinated with what he was seeing. "Is not making out. It is insane rabbit-like procreation."

"It would be," Refia agreed. "If they weren't male." She switched her eyes to Ingus, lips pursed with amusement.

"I stand corrected." Ingus mumbled, eyes still fixated. "It is insane _gay_ rabbit-like procreation." Ingus's eyes suddenly widened. "Oh _God_, I did _not_ need to see that!" He whimpered, and swiftly turned away, spasming. Refia curiously looked back, flinched, and politely looked away.

"Perhaps we should go back to camp and leave them to it. But remember not to touch that little fish when they bring back the food."

Practically catatonic, Ingus nodded, and was led obediently back to camp.


	4. Guidance

This is a pre-game story. enjoy.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nina glanced worriedly at adopted son # 2, otherwise known as Arc. He'd been even quieter than usual lately, and hadn't been eating much. Even though Luneth and Arc would never be her real sons, she still felt like they were. Thus, she was worried about Arc. And so she cornered him, when Luneth was out killing goblins.

"Arc." Nina said sternly. "You've been acting strangely lately. I want to know why." The fifteen year old bit his lip. He carried himself with the same grace as Luneth, they were both so..._fighter material_ that it was as if they were from another world.

"I don't know what you mean." he said quietly. That was another thing, too. He seemed to preoccupied to stutter and be inhumanly shy around everyone, aside from Luneth. If anything, he was acting _more_ shy around Luneth.

"Arc, I'm your mother. We notice these things." Nina wagged her finger. "Now tell me." Arc frowned a little.

"Luneth...he's not my brother, is he? And you're...you're not my real mother, are you?" He seemed to be afraid to meet her eyes.

Nina was momentarily shocked. "Where did you hear that?"

"I...me and Luneth heard you and one of the elders talking."

Nina frowned. "No, Arc. We three aren't related." Arc sighed, and nodded. He seemed a little relieved about something. "It's not all, is it? That isn't the reason you've been off colour recently." Arc continued chewing his lip.

"No." he admitted finally.

"Then what?" Arc was silent. "You do know I'll continue bugging you until you tell me?" Arc was silent for a minute or so more, before he spoke.

"I...I've been told by the elders many times what a crush feels like." Nina almost snorted. Those elders! Incorrigible. "But..." Arc sighed. "Have you ever been in love, mum?"

Nina was surprised by the question. "I have. Once, many years ago." Arc stared, eyes half-lidded, at the ground.

"What does it feel like?" Nina thought she was beginning to understand. And so, for a while, she explained.

"But it didn't last very long. He was a visitor to the village- I knew he would have to leave. It was...painful, at first. But I learned to ignore it." Arc seemed strangely...defeated.

"You're lucky." The edges of his lips curled in a small, bitter smile, barely visible. But Nina caught it. She saw Arc's fists clench, he jerked slightly, and a single tear fell from the edge of one eye. His expression hadn't changed as the glistening teardrop fell. One hand rose slowly, and clutched the area around his heart, as if trying to crush it. "You're lucky, mum. It won't let _me _go."

Nina frowned, and waited for Arc to continue. He did, surprisingly. "Every day...I watch on. I nod my head, and I smile. And I hide. No one noticed, no one saw beneath the facade I put up. No one sees...how much it hurts." He spoke it all in a steady voice that wavered often, and the last bit trailed into a whisper.

"Tell me what you feel. How it feels. And detailed, please." Arc did. He told her about the stomach twisting, his inability to not blush while around the other person, his desire to be close to this person, but most of all...the pain. The feelings of longing that attacked him, the deadly pangs that tore him apart. His fading concern for the world around him, and his lowering happiness. He felt utterly miserable, hollow, and to quote: 'As if I'm dead on my feet.'

Nina knew this was serious, not some teenage crush. True infatuation was rare at such an early age...but such infatuation could kill a person, tear them apart from the inside and utterly destroy their self-esteem and desire to exist. And so, with sadness lacing her features, she asked: "Who is it?" He'd masterfully dodged mentioning the object of his love. Nina needed to know for this to be remedied.

Arc didn't answer, and so Nina began musing out loud.

"It's a shame, really, but everyone even close to your age bullies you... The only person who gives you even remote reason to like them is Luneth." She chuckled at this. Then she saw the look that came across Arc's face. His hollow, haunted look. Realisation dawned on her. "_Luneth..._It's him?" The reddening of his face was enough of an answer. "That explains _everything..._ but damn, this complicates things..." She muttered the alst part to herself, but had no doubt that Arc heard it. She gave Arc a quick hug. "Look after yourself until I can do something, okay?"

Arc blinked. "Y...You don't care that..." He seemed to struggle with his words.

"You're gay?" Nina said helpfully. Arc blushed and dipped his head. "Certainly not. It would be disturbing if he were actually your brother, but since he isn't, and you know he isn't, it's fine." A thought struck her. "How long?" Arc didn't have to ask what she meant.

"Around four and a half years. Got worse...and worse..." He muttered, eyes shadowed by his hair. Nina was shocked.

"That long?" Arc nodded slightly. Nina's face darkened. "I see. Take care of yourself, I need to think." And Nina went off to do exactly that.

_xxxx_

For a few days, Nina was holed up in her house, trying fruitlessly to think of something to help Arc. She could think of nothing, Luneth had shown no signs of liking Arc in anything more than friendship.

"hey, Mum!"

Speak of the devil.

"Yes, Luneth?" Nina asked him, distractedly. Luneth suddenly seemed to get nervous.

"I...er...need advice." Nina forced her attention to occupy Luneth, rather than who loved him.

"About...?"

Luneth shuffled nervously. "There's this person I like...I've liked for years actually, but I've been scared to show it. There's like, _zilch_ chance that I'll get lucky. Just not gonna happen. So I've tried to get over it...but I...can't. And...and hell, it's _killing me._"

Nina wanted to wail in distress. She had _two_ potentially suicidal sons plagued by unrequited love! And the fact that Luneth already liked someone made it nearly impossible to remedy Arc's situation. Sighing, Nina got Luneth to tell her about the feelings, to make sure he wasn't overreacting.

And, holy god, his feelings were as bad and genuine as Arc's. Maybe even worse. Nina wanted to cry.

"Who is it?" There was a much wider range of possibilities than with Arc. Luneth practically had a fan club. Practically. Luneth's eyes became shifty. He obviously didn't want to say. Well, too bad. She'd find out who it was and kill them. Well, maybe not that extreme, but... "Luneth, you can tell me. I won't be angry. Who?"

Luneth stared her down desperately, begging with his eyes to be let off the hook. Her gaze remained stubborn and insistent. Realising he wasn't going to win, Luneth sighed defeatedly, and replied.

"...Arc."

Nina wanted to die of shock, come back to life, jump for joy, and most importantly, _matchmake._

_Whoohoo!_ Nina thought. _This is brilliant! I'll just lock them in a cupboard and- er, actually, maybe not. They'd hate me forever, despite the results. I'll think later, Luneth will probably need the same reassurance as Arc._

"How long?" She asked, as she had with Arc.

He seemed surprised. "You're not-"

"No, I don't care that you're gay. And I also know that you know that you, me, and Arc are not related, so there's that too. My best friend from childhood was gay, one of the reasons I knew I could get on with him so well. I knew he wouldn't develop feelings for me or something like that." Luneth seemed put out. Nina sighed, and looked him in the eye. "Luneth, listen to me. Some best friends are deathly afraid of the other falling in love with them-" Luneth flinched, looking like a kicked puppy. "-But there are some best friends that fall for each other, confess, and live happily ever after. This...isn't very common. More common is that a best friend fall in love with his friend, hides it, and eventually gets so depressed that they commit suicide or die from heartache. I don't want you to become one of the latter, Luneth."

"But how can't I?! What _can _I do?!" Luneth suddenly cried, eyes desperate for an answer.

"I don't know, Luneth. That's up to you. You can die from unrequited love, or you can tell him and see how it turns out. But there is one thing I feel you should know about Arc." Luneth looked at her expectantly. "Arc... is dying." Nina saw Luneth's eyes widen, and didn't miss the small, barely hidden gasp he made. His face was the epitome of shock and distress. "Arc is dying, and from the impression I got, I don't think he has more than a few months. This is something I found out about very recently, no more than a few days ago. If you want to confess, you'd better do it while you still can. This...thing that is killing him, it could probably be helped by Arc knowing that someone cares for him in more than friendship." Her face was grave.

"I-I'll try." Luneth finally choked out. Nina nodded to him seriously.

"Good. For his sake, I hope you do." Nina stood up. "I have somewhere I need to be. Choose wisely, Luneth."

And she left swiftly, leaving the mortified boy behind her.

_xxxx_

Nina knocked three times on the door of the Elders. They sat at their table all day, waiting for when they were needed.

"Come in." Came a voice from inside. Nina opened the door, and entered. She bowed slightly before sitting down in one of the seats for visitors.

"Hello, Nina. What have you come here for?" Elder Koja asked kindly. Nina held her head up regally.

"I am here to request a matchmaking."

Words cannot describe how much the old men and women brightened when they heard that. If one thing could be relied on in Ur, it was that the elders were all _complete _voyeurs.

"Request accepted." Elder Topapa declared.

"State the ones involved and your reason for them to be paired up." Elder Yori ordered. Nina bowed her head.

"This is a matchmaking that you, Elder Topapa, may especially want to get involved with." This aroused the said elder's interest. "The parties involved are Luneth and Arc."

Shocked silence.

"Interesting." Elder Topapa spoke. "I think we may need some explanation for this, though we are not against it, we would like to know why."

"Both are aware that they are not related with the other or myself. They apparently overheard me in conversation with someone. Today, Luneth came to me to ask for love advice. His love interest is Arc. "Three days ago, I confronted Arc on his strange behavior lately. It was caused by his feelings for Luneth. Both are unaware that the other returns their feelings, and both are in a bad state."

"Bad state? Explain."

"Both are wasting away, honorable Elders. This is not a crush they have on each other, it is genuine love that a person feels for his partner. It is the sort of love that will slowly kill a person. Luneth, I believe, has not had these feelings for as long as Arc. Arc told me that it has slowly been worsening for four years. I think we don't have much time before we lose one of them. Arc, especially. I believe he is on the point of utter despair, I truly think that we don't have more than two or three months left before Arc does something drastic. If we force him to eat, he may choose the alternative. This union is requested for life and happiness between the two. They _need _this."

There was a grave silence. "I see. This is most serious." Elder Ringu said finally. "This sort of situation is very delicate. Whenever we are presented with such a case, it is normally adults. The matter will be made more difficult by the fact that the parties involved are _hormonal teenagers."_

"Agreed. I believe we cannot use our usual tactics in this." Elder Topapa paused. "Nina, what advice did you give Luneth?"

Nina told him.

"Hmm. That was probably a wise action, it will prompt Luneth to confront Arc. We will observe for a while, and intervene if nescessary." Elder Koja decided. "Agreed?" All elders did. "Now, we will codename this case: Countdown."

"Erm...Elder Koja...why is a codename nescessary?" Nina asked dubiously.

"So that we can talk about it without anyone knowing what we're talking about."

"Ah."

_xxxx_

Luneth was thinking. What Nina had said was severely distressing, and he couldn't take his mind off it. _Something...is wrong._ The thought came to him without any warning. He suddenly felt a sense of gread dread and foreboding. Without cause, his mind instantly generated a cause of action. _I need to find Arc. He's usually by the river._

Luneth used his favourite shortcut- running on roofs. It was quite possible to jump up there, with all the training he'd done. Darting across roofs didn't put one in situations where he'd have to avoid crashing into a person. So, it was quick, he didn't have to bother with using certain alleys, and was therefore the best mode of transportation. Apart from Airships. Couldn't forget those. Eventually, Luneth was jumping on trees rather than buildings, and kept on at it until he reached the bank that Arc enjoyed reading at. Even at his height, on top of a very tall tree, Luneth could see that something was wrong with the picture. Arc was holding his hunting knife, looking at it with a strange expression. He seemed to be struggling with something, his face wavering. On the wind, Luneth heard soft words spoken by the boy.

"I'm...sorry..." Whispered the wind, and eyes widening, Luneth realised with a stab of horror what was going on. That knife was getting precariously close to the jugular vein, a fatal attack point, or so they'd learnt in hunting school. _That...That idiot! _ Luneth swooped down upon the scene with furious resolve. In one swift motion, he landed beside Arc, and knocked the knife out of his hand with the hilt of his own blade. Arc's eyes widened. "Lu...neth..."

"Damn right!" Luneth snarled, grasping Arc's shoulders and glaring at him with fury. Arc shrank back. "What the hell are you _thinking?! _You're not an idiot, Arc, why in hell would you do something like that?!" Arc looked absolutely terrified. This alone was enough to calm Luneth down- the last thing he wanted was to be the cause of Arc's distress. "Just...why?" Arc stared blankly ahead. The expression was wrong on him.

"I'm going to die anyway...so at least, this way, I choose how I'll die."

"But - just- _why?_ Why not live for as long as you can?" Luneth asked desperately. He just didn't know what to do. This was his best friend, and his beloved, turned bloody _suicidal!_

"This life is painful...putting me out of my misery, you know? No one else would do it, they'd have me locked up and put on surveillance. Just...more proof...you're better off without me. Without...my...burden-" Arc was cut off by Luneth shaking him roughly.

"How could you say something like that?!" _I could__** never**__ live without Arc..._ Luneth pulled Arc into a sudden hug, flinging his arms, which had been previously grasping Arc's shoulders, around the smaller boy's back. Arc gave a surprised squeak, and to his credit, turned completely red. There was the normal Arc back again.

"Just...I thought...I..." Arc spoke disjointedly, eyes utterly wide.

"You _idiot._" Luneth whispered, burrowing his face into Arc's hair, holding him tighter. "How could you _ever_ think that I could live without you? I-If you'd done that, I don't doubt that I'd have followed..."

Arc drew in his breath. "B-but...why? Why _me_? I-I'm not important..." He said the last part so quietly that Luneth almost couldn't hear it. But he did, and said boy's violet eyes swirled round to meet Arc's. Luneth seemed to be considering something, hesitating, then whatever he'd been considering was resolved, with the determination that flickered there. Luneth sighed into Arc's skin.

" 'Cause I love ya, Arc." He murmured by the boy's ear, ignoring the way he seized up, and his eyes widened as his breath hitched in his throat. "And that makes you the most important in my life." He prepared for rejection, he prepared to be pushed away forever. He did not prepare for Arc twisting around and latching his arms around Luneth's shoulders, as if he were his last lifeline. He probably was. Arc's face was buried in the cleft between Luneth's neck and collarbone, and said boy was frozen, not seeming to know what to do with himself. Arc sobbed without tears, and Luneth just sat there, utterly perplexed.

"I can't believe it." Came Arc's muffled voice, filled with quiet wonder. "How long have I prayed for this, I wonder?" The second comment was even more quiet than the first, and wanting answers, Luneth used a hand to prop Arc's chin up, so that they had eye contact.

"What do you mean by that?" Luneth asked, he was worried. That could mean a great many things- and Luneth's general optimism was suggesting things he'd rather not think, for the sake of his sanity. Arc's golden-brown eyes were glimmering with uncertainty- a ripple of desperation cloaked in distress. Arc didn't reply, he merely lowered his face and cried into Luneth's neck, clutching him harder than would seem physically possible for the shy boy. Luneth didn't know what those tears were. There was sadness in them, but the sadness was something passing. They held loyal to something deep, something long-concealed and painfully pent up. Something that needed to be resolved. And in the shadows of his own thoughts, Luneth was morbidly reminded of how he'd stared at his reflection in a mirror, cursing himself bitterly for falling in love with Arc.

But never regretting. He could never begin to regret, no matter how much pain it caused.

He wasn't aware of the tears stopping, but he was most certainly aware of the soft, murmured words that Arc produced.

"What are we, Luneth?"

Luneth blinked, faintly confused and slightly astonished at such a strange question. "What?"

"What are we?" Arc asked again, still murmuring into the damp hollow of Luneth's neck. "What am I to you? What are you to me?" Luneth honestly didn't know why Arc was asking _him_ that. But he'd answer.

"I'll be whatever you want me to be. Best friend, family battle partner..." The last option went unsaid. It was what _Luneth_ wanted, after all. "Whatever you want." That's right. What _he_ wanted. His own wants were second-rate to Arc's. For the first time, Arc looked up and met Luneth's uncertain gaze of his own accord, his teary eyes a window to his broken spirit, and in desperate need of someone to fix it.

Luneth was willing to be that someone. Scratch that, he was the only one who would do it, so he _would_ be the one to fix Arc. He met the eyes, willing for whatever they asked for.

"But what If I want you to be something more?" Arc whispered. "_More _than friendship...?" More than willing. Luneth searched his eyes for confirmation of the suspicion provoked by Arc's words. What he found- the unbound, unhidden truth- was something terrifying. Something brilliant, but something that had been so horribly painful too.

Arc...loved him?

Everything swept upon him. A tide of relief, clouded waves of exhaustion that came after a war. No more pain, no more battles- just the comforting, secure state of perfection of a world in which plague had been removed to reveal a paradise.

Luneth smiled, and his eyes (under careful scrutiny by Arc) were a churning froth of what he was feeling. It was chaotic, frenzied, and so utterly _Luneth_ that it was impossible to figure it out.

"Like I said, anything you want." Those eyes suddenly focused, pouring honesty into that smile. Arc could have sworn his heart stopped when Luneth drew closer. "I guess it's a bonus that what you want is also something that I want."

Hey presto, instant kiss.

That was it, Arc decided. He'd died and gone to heaven. There was no way in hell it could be happening otherwise. He opened his eyes. Nope. Luneth was still there, still shockingly close, and still most definitely kissing him.

For the first time in years, Arc was glad that he'd never stopped loving.

--

In the trees, there were mixed reactions. Several of the elders were cheerfully taking pictures, others seemed downright pertubed that cade: Countdown had been resolved without their help. However, a great portion (including one non-elder, Nina) seemed completely mesmerised. Nina eventually snaped her stare away, and fixed her awed, wide eyes on elder Topapa.

"Mothers are naturally inclined to strangle anyone who gets in a relationship with their children." Nina told him conversationally. "But since I'd be killing both of them, and that most certainly wouldn't be good, I'm not quite sure what to do." Then, Nina left, muttering something about 'having to make dinner for them' and 'thing parents should never know about their children'.

Elder Topapa wondered what those things were. However, upon taking a glance at Ur's newest couple, he decided it must be the knowledge that said couple were somehow excellent kissers, despite inexperience. he called over Elder Koja.

"Yes, sir?" It should be noted that Topapa was Chief Elder. He pulled the strings.

"Look lively. I think it's time we train Miss Nina to be one of our successors when we die."

"I'll see to it, sir."


	5. Fears

The so-called Warriors of Light had without question become good friends. All of them. However, they were inevitably grouped into pairs of closeness. Ingus and Refia were much less likely to kill each other than any other combination, and as for Luneth and Arc...well, they were them. Simple as that. Brilliant fighters, and impossibly good at mentioned profession when fighting together.

But undeniably, they were idiots. No one else was. Anyone with eyes could tell that Arc was completely infatuated with Luneth. They weren't sure about Luneth himself, but... Hell, even _Desch_ noticed it! It had to be pretty damn blatant for that idiot to notice anything. Desch chortled about it behind their backs, turning an absolute blind eye towards the pain that could come with unrequited love.

It was for this reason, that Refia and Ingus, while secretly amused by their antics, pitied them. Refia, being less of a stuck up, Ice Prince, emotionless prat than Ingus could imagine how it felt. How Arc clearly loved Luneth, but was deathly afraid to ruin their friendship. Deathly afraid to lose the one that had supported him through everything.

Refia sighed. It was so sadly romantic.

Something had to be done!

...In the distant future...when they were being mobbed by less horrifying monsters.

xxxxxxxxxx

At some point in the journey, Refia had begun a quite personal conversation at the campfire. She had no idea at the time that she was initiating something so big.

"It's a bit random...but what do you fear the most?" She asked, sounding honestly curious, as if she hadn't just asked one of the most evil things on the face of the planet. Ingus scoffed.

"Knights don't fear." he informed her haughtily. She scoffed too, in a disturbingly accurate impression of how he had.

"Bullshit. Everyone fears. Unless you're some sort of humanoid creature posing as a human, and we've never noticed." Refia pointed out. Ingus huffed, and didn't say anything else on the matter. What a kid. "Arc...never mind." Refia changed her mind on pressing the shy warrior, becuase it was kind of obvious by the way he was blushing and stealing glances at Luneth when he wasn't looking. He was afraid of Luneth finding out, and hating him. "What about you, Luneth?" Luneth sighed, and leaned back against a log.

"An Impulse potion." He told them. "You know, those prank things that people use to take someone's restrictions away and make them act on impulse? That's what I fear the most." If Luneth had been smarter, or if he'd seen the unnatural gleam in Ingus's eyes, he wouldn't have said that.

Refia absently told them that her worst fear was of everyone dying, but she realised no one was actually listening, and pouted.

Hell hath no force like a demon-posing-as-a-woman pouting.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Naturally, Refia was surprised when Ingus practically skipped away to the market of the town they'd just entered. He wasn't usually the type to be so happy when Refia dumped the shopping on him... and was naturally startled when Ingus appeared later with an Impulse potion, and gave a very un-Inguslike grin before slipping it into his own bag.

"Ingus!" She exclaimed. "That's evil!"

"Think about it. Think about it, just for a minute." Ingus told her calmly, with the air of an insane scientist desperate to test a theory. "We all know that Luneth is about as good as rotting shit when it somes to disguising his emotions, and he's obviously a very impulsive person. The fact that he fears an Impulse potion so much means that there's something he's been stopping himself from doing long enough for him to fear losing his restraint."

"And that makes it any better?!" Refia practically screamed.

"_Think_ about it, Refia. Who do you think Luneth respects enough to go to the effort of not acting on impulse? Who is around enough for Luneth to gain a worst fear of his restraint being removed?" Recognition dawned on her.

"Arc."

He nodded. "And since it's good as impossible that Luneth dislikes him, we can only assume his impulses are directed to something more affectionate." Refia studied Ingus with a calculating look.

"I'm in." She eventually told him, pulling him towards the inn. "And you're my new best friend. Come on."

xxxxxxxxx

Later in the wilderness (It had been decided that it might not be best for the deed to be done in town), Refia slipped the potion into Luneth's drink while getting another serving of stew. Discreet and unnoticed, that was how she operated. A bit later, she excused herself to get firewood, and Ingus came with her. Warriors travelled in packs, no questions. Naturally, they merely went to their hidden pile of firewood that they'd gotten a long time ago, and took a nice vantage point from a tree.

It seemed the potion worked quickly, because a minute later Luneth's eyes widened and he began twitching.

"What the hell?" They heard him growl. Luneth grabbed Refia's coat, looking inside it. "They didn't." His hand found the bottle of the potion, cheerfully labelled. "They _did_. Those bastards! I'll kill them!"

"I'm thinking it's good we're here, since he wants to kill us and he's had an impulse potion. He'd actually do it." Refia remarked in a whisper. "I wonder what he'll do now." Luneth was clearly struggling to stay still, but seemed to be trying to move away from Arc. Trying, and failing.

"Th-they gave you an Impulse potion?" Arc asked timidly. Luneth gritted his teeth, and determinedly did not look at him.

"Yeah. They did." He growled, sounding supremely frustrated. "And Arc...I suggest you get out of here while I can let you."

x

"I knew it." Ingus whispered triumphantly.

x

Arc was confused. So Luneth hated him so much that he had to stop himself from attacking _all the time_? "Wh-what?"

"Just go! Hide somewhere!" Luneth snarled, sounding so fierce that Arc squeaked, and began to escape, reaching the trees.

A minute later, Luneth was clearly robbed of all restraint, and he rushed after Arc, while saying 'dammit' and sounding rather frustrated.

x

"Fuckers! they just _had_ to switch location, didn't they?!"

x

It didn't take long for Luneth to find Arc, looking around and confusedly wondering where to go. Naturally, he squeaked rather loudly when Luneth arrived from above, landing just behind him.

"I'm sorry, Arc. You should have gotten away while you could." Apparently Luneth was still in control of his voice. Arc stilled. He had no idea what would happen, but he expected something violent. It most certainly was violent, but not in the way he'd been thinking about.

Arc scarcely had enough time to think before he was wrenched around to face Luneth, and a second later was falling- back onto the ridiculously long grass. It was quite good to cushion his fall, but nothing could have prepared him for what happened next. Instead of being killed rather horribly, Luneth shut him up in the most effective way.

Luneth's lips slammed onto his own with the force of a tidal wave. Well, maybe not that hard. As impulsive Luneth was, he certainly didn't want to kill Arc. Instead, Luneth kissed him with such frightening force that his brain shut down and turned to jelly. All he was aware of was his shock and the current events. It wasn't a second later that Luneth demanded entrance to the other's mouth. Arc, who was quite pleased, gave his consent, and a little later returned the kiss.

What was most frightening was just how demanding Luneth turned out to be.

xx

"However hot this is, I'm gonna have to pass if they're doing _that_." Refia sighed, and wrinkled her nose. She knew gays did things differently, but she'd had no _idea-_

Stop. Don't even _go_ there. Refia shuddered, and pulled a passed-out Ingus back to camp.

xxx

Ingus and Refia smartly left Luneth and Arc alone, and went to their tents long before the two hours of potion effectiveness was up. They'd thought it a good idea to take the double tent themselves that day- Luneth would probably be highly impartial to sharing a tent with someone he'd practically taken advantage of. Luneth returned a long time after the potion had worn off. At some point, Arc had fallen asleep, and so it was like that that Luneth placed him in his tent. Refia and Ingus did not have any desire to check if they were fully clothed or not. Probably not.

Luneth was going to _kill_ them.

xxx

The next morning, Luneth stormed up to Refia with eyes of venom.

"Word cannot describe how much I hate you right now." He hissed. Refia calmly addressed him, as if nothing had happened.

"What exactly do you remember of what happened, Luneth?" She asked calmly. Luneth was temporarily put-off.

"Not much. Quite a bit...but then it's hazy. But I can tell from after the potion wore off...that I did... something bad." An angry flush passed over his face. Refia's response of a smirk to that what all the confirmation he needed to know that she'd been spying.

"Ever considered that Arc perhaps wasn't trying to get away?" Refia asked him good-naturedly. Luneth growled, Refia sighed. "Sit down." Reluctantly, Luneth did. "Why do you fear an impulse potion, Luneth?"

"I'd think it's pretty damn obvious!" Luneth snapped. "I'd do _that_- and Arc's too shy and submissive to think of stopping me! You've...you've ruined _everything!_" The last part was a furious, half-strangled hiss. With that, he left.

Refia sighed. "He didn't take it too well, did he?" She remarked to Ingus, who was discreetly hidden in the shadow.

"Nope."

xxx

Arc was thinking. Now that it was over, he remembered what Luneth had done all too clearly. When Luneth had told him to get away, he'd expected an attack. Well, he'd gotten one. Only it was far more affectionate than the sort he'd had in mind. Arc felt rather guilt for allowing himself to go along with Luneth's actions- he shouldn't have taken advantage of Luneth's situation like that. But since it was an Impulse potion...didn't that mean he wanted to do the sort of thing all the time, but was restraining himself.

Arc blushed at the thought of a non-drugged Luneth wanting to do things like _that_ to him. It was far-fetched...but...perhaps Luneth liked him back a little? He shook his head and sighed. Like that would ever happen. Refia had probably gotten the wrong potion. He felt a stab of anger towards her for raising his hopes, but quickly smothered it, feeling ashamed.

Of course, no one suspected Ingus. _Nooo_, everyone blame Refia!

But over the next few days, Arc was getting very distressed. Luneth was clearly avoiding him. Perhaps whatever drug Refia had given him allowed him to keep his memories, and Luneth was now so disgusted with him for allowing it that he didn't want anything to do with him? Arc whimpered slightly at the thought, cringing. Luneth hadn't met his eyes once ever since The Potion Incident. He'd avoided saying anything to him unless nescessary, and their teamwork in fighting was most definitely ruined. Refia had wisely kept them in different tents.

Honestly, Arc had no idea how to face Luneth. If speaking the truth, he'd be at a complete loss of what to say if confronted with his best friend, and he predicted the awkwardness would be on astounding levels. Just thinking about his love interest without his mental barriers erected resulted in an instant blush. Instant. It wasn't quite logical, considering what they'd experienced...but...well, Arc will be Arc.

And Arc, despite his shyness, was becoming two things. One: extremely distressed. Two: pissed off. Naturally, it had to be Luneth that had gotten Arc to cross all logical Arc borders and allow him to become angry. A feat that is generally physically and mentally impossible for Arc, unless some monster had the misfortune of injuring Luneth.

Arc was pissed off that Luneth was avoiding him. Said pissed off-ness was having a battle with his embarassment and shyness. His anger wanted him to demand to Luneth to stop avoiding him and face the music, and the shyness and embarassment simply wanted him to stay away and give Luneth his room.

They seemed to have equal strength, so in the end, they all gave up and created a compromise.

xxxx

Luneth was still wallowing in a tide of emotions. Tide was probably not the best word...swamp would be more accurate. Thick, churning, and inpenetrable. He hated himself for allowing it to happen. Hated himself for disregarding Arc's free will, his fault or not. Hated Refia, because now Arc would hate him and things would never be the same. Guilt was immeasurably powerful; how could he have done that? Drugged or not, he should have been able to do _something!_

He figured Arc would want some space, so he avoided him as much as possible. There was a little motivation in doing so for the purpose of avoiding to confront his shame. Luneth honestly didn't know how he could face his childhood friend, after such things happening.

He was not expecting Ingus to actually talk to him voluntarily.

"What?" He asked gruffly, sensing the warrior's presence behind him.

"I thought you may want to know." The soldier said matter-of-factly. "Arc is becoming distressed at your avoiding him."

"Distressed?!" Luneth snarled, whirling his head around. "He probably doesn't want to look at me anymore, never mind getting _distressed_ that I'm staying away!" The bored look on Ingus's face became deadpan.

"Whatever you say. I pity your lack of intellect." He said simply, and began walking away before Luneth could kill him.

Naturally, the absolute last thing he'd ever expected was for Arc to appear out of no where (a few days after the talk with Ingus) and confront him (albeit nervously) while he was collecting firewood; the firewood wasn't really needed, but they planned on setting up Temp. base in the vicinity, becuase the monsters were relatively strong and were good for training on. Therefore, more firewood than possibly needed was required.

He'd basically been heaping firewood in a grassless path by a stream to be collected later, and was making his way across a distinctly meadow-like area when Arc somehow dropped out of a tree behind him _without_ being heard and addressed him.

"L-Luneth...?" The nervous voice in the midst of silence nearly killed Luneth in shock. He'd not heard that voice speak to him since The Potion Incident. He stopped walking, and stilled completely. He swallowed, and hoped it didn't sound as loud to Arc as it did to him.

"Arc." He said it in a perfectly level voice, but anyone with ears could hear the wavering undertone; the presence of a fear that should not exist. He did not turn around. He was afraid at what he'd see in his beloved's eyes. He could guess; hate, disgust. It was painfully easy to picture, but it was less painful to pretend it was non-existent.

"I-er...um..." Arc stuttered incomprehensible mush for a while before he gave up, sighed, and started again. "I-I'm sorry." Luneth was so surprised that he couldn't stop his head from jerking partially in Arc's direction, making one fully-widened violet eye visible to the other.

"What?" His voice was completely surprised. he'd not been expecting an apology at all. His one eye observed Arc studying his feet, hiding what his eyes said. What he felt. _For the best,_ Luneth told himself. He didn't believe it.

"I-I should have left faster...I d-didn't mean...I mean...I-I'm sorry." He said again. Luneth furrowed an eyebrow in confusion. Was Arc saying that The Potion Incident had been his fault, just because he hadn't got away.

Arc watched Luneth turn around slightly, displaying his face, with a hidden eye. The silver-haired boy's eyes were blank, and his voice was deceptively mild. "I don't quite understand what you're apologising for." Arc flinched. Luneth _never_ spoke that formally to him. So that was it, then? Luneth really hated him...

Luneth frowned. What was with the look that'd just come over Arc's face.

"I...I'm sorry. I-I should have left faster, like you told me to." He repeated, almost insistently. "And...I...I- I shouldn't have let you-" He broke off with a strangled noise. Luneth knew what he was making the noise in substitution for, and was unable to stop his cheeks pink slightly. Slightly.

"No." Luneth said, finally. "It's not your fault, is it? _I _shouldn't have said what my fear was...otherwise those _bastards_ wouldn't have gotten the damn thing. And as for..._allowing..._" Arc could have sworn that Luneth's cheeks pinkened even more at this point. "...Well, there's a reason I fear those potions...I knew you _wouldn't_ stop me... no offense, but in social things, you tend to let people do what they...want...to you..." Arc, naturally, turned bright red, and wondered why the 'want' was isolated from the rest of the sentence.

"Um...O-okay...I-I'll l-leave you alone n-now...if you w-want...s-sorry..." Luneth frowned, Arc was creeping awkwardly away. Why on earth was he still apologising, why did he sound so miserable, and why was he insinuating that Luneth didn't want him around. Luneth gathered up his courage, swallowed, and took a grasp on the back of Arc's robe to keep him in place. He squeaked when he noticed. "Y-yes?"

"What do you mean 'if I want'?" Luneth asked, releasing the boy and frowning, crossing his arms.

"Um...Y-you w-weren't talking t-to me...and y-you've been avoiding me...so I thought...I mean...if you hate me...I-" Where the _fuck _had that come from?! Luneth blinked. _Oh, I see. _Arc was an insecure person. if Luneth wasn't talking to him and was doing his best to avoid him, then he probably would assume that Luneth hated him. _Wait, does that mean that he doesn't hate me?_ The thought was ludicrous, yet the most hopeful thing in Luneth's current life. Luneth grasped Arc's shoulder, and turned him around before he could continue. Upon having Luneth's eyes on him, Arc instantly went red and adopted the 'deer in headlights' look. _Great god, he's so damn shy. I mean, isn't it only the obsessive fangirls that blush and giggle whenever you look at them? Hang on... _That observation raised some hopes that should not be raised.

"Arc, let's clear some things up. I don't hate you, and I'm sorry if it seemed that way." He turned his eyes away, desperately trying to keep his expression normal. "I...I thought you'd want some room. Some time away from me..." Luneth frowned. "I don't exactly remember everything that happened...but I can guess that it was something pretty drastic." Arc's furious blush was answer enough. "I...was under the impression that you'd be resentful of me...for what I did." He sighed. "I good as...took advantage of you." Arc made an odd squeaking noise.

"B-but you were the one drugged. W-wouldn't that m-mean I-I took advantage...of..." Arc's voice became increasinly squeaky, and his face became increasingly red, until Luneth was sure he was about to explode.

"Arc, calm down. Technically, you'd be correct, but as I said...you tend to let people do their own thing. The fact is that because you're so shy, things as small as someone asking you to get firewood is taking advantage of you, since you'd never refuse." Arc wasn't sure whether he was being complimented or insulted. There was silence for a while, and eventually Arc plucked up the courage to ask the question that'd been endlessly bugging him.

"um...Luneth? That...was an Impulse potion, right...? So...why...I mean...why do you have to restrain...something like..._that_..." Arc continued to redden. He also narly jumped out of his skin in shock of how quickly Luneth stiffened at that, how tense he suddenly was. How his expression when frighteningly blank.

"Make no mistake, Arc, if I took an Impulse potion now, I'd probably do the same thing as I did the first time." Luneth seemed to be struggling, very hard, with something. Arc blushed harder at Luneth's words.

"Y-you don't have to say...If you don't want..." Arc suggested timidly, only for Luneth to sigh and interrupt.

"No...it's alright...I...should have said this a log time ago." Luneth seemed to be on the point of hyperventilation, but soon after Arc made this observation, Luneth promptly calmed his breathing, and fixed his violet eyes onto Arc's golden brown ones. He seemed uncharacteristically nervous about something. Arc waited for him to speak. Luneth got closer so gradually that he only noticed how near he was when he was right in front of him. That was when Arc's heart skipped a beat. Luneth stood there, his expression struggling on something, before he gave a resigned sigh, and his expression was of the same resignation. "You know me, Arc, so you'll understand I'm a forward kind of guy...and since this is so damn hard to say, how about I just show you?" Arc nodded dumbly, eyes fixated on the one he loved.

Luneth's expression changed then. Very briefly, but Arc recognised it. It was how he'd looked when he gave up one of his restraints, like during The Potion Incident. He barely had time to process this before he was being kissed. Kissed, by _Luneth._ Luneth who _was not_ under influence of a potion. Luneth who was Luneth. He'd said that he wasn't good at explaining things, and then asked him if he could show him. Did that mean...?

Luneth pulled away, but was still close. Breathtakingly close. Luneth had one hand on his neck, partly on his cheek, and the other a little below his arm. "Understand?" He murmured. Arc studied his expression, utterly unbridled. Luneth wasn't hiding anything, all his emotions were out in the open for him to see...and _yes, _it couldn't be easier to see...but how was it possible? How long had he been hiding this? ...How was it even remotely possible for _Luneth_ to be in love with him?

"Y-yes." Arc whispered back. He was slightly puzzled to see an expectant look on the other's face. he seemed to be bracing himself for something.

"And?" A slap of realisation whacked Arc in the face. Luneth expected him to reject him! A small smile reached his lips. _Everything_ was fine now. Nothing...all the pain gone. Just the warmth that would link Arc to luneth forever. Arc hesitated, then shuffled closer to Luneth, who was clearly surprised by the action.

"I...I love...you too..." Suddenly he was afraid. What if he'd been wrong, and Luneth didn't love him? What would he say then? His doubts were soon to be eliminated.

"Are...you sure?" There was an edge of desperation to Luneth's quiet reply. Arc hesitated, but then relaxed. His secret was out now anyway.

"Yes." Arc wasn't sure what, but something clicked in Luneth's eyes then. They now held a predatory look, and a strange cloudiness. After a second, Arc recognised it as the look Luneth had taken in The Potion Incident when about to do something...drastic.

Arc's comparison was very accurate, and the next minute, he found himself answering Luneth's rather demanding impulses without help from a potion.

xx

"What the hell is Luneth doing? It doesn't take that long to get firewood." Ingus muttered, irritated.

Refia drank her tea calmly. "Juding by those noises," She nodded her head in the general direction of some strange, distant noises. "I'd say he and Arc are busy deflowering each other again. Without a potion."

Ingus grunted. "Took them long enough."

"Agreed."

They unsuccessfully tried to ignore the sounds for a while, then gave up and went to their tents, leaving the two-person tent for the forest's newest couple.


	6. History

This is yet another pre-game! (Hands a cookie and popcorn to Rike, Besotted's most loyal reviewer) Bear in mind that this chapter takes a while to get started. **Warnings: Minor lime. (To Rike: Sorry, couldn't resist :p)**

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"In Ur, everyone is surrounded by goblins. This is a fact. And in a random season each year, unfairly powerful monsters migrate to eat the goblins, because they are fodder and thus easy pickings. This is also a fact.

At first, people in Ur were dying left and right in this Dreaded Season, until someone finally gathered some brains and figured out a solution. It was quite simple really. Since it took practically a lifetime to get stronger while killing goblins, they decided that they needed to train, but goblins wouldn't help. And because all anyone could kill was goblins, if they went away from the village to train, they'd get _killed._ How unfortunate.

So, this guy who saved the day (we'll call him Dweeb, shall we?), he suggested that people train on each other. Naturally, the only way to get experience points from someone was to kill them, so this seemed like a damn stupid idea since they'd basically be killing themselves off. So Dweeb was executed, and that was the end of that.

Only, after a while of being driven to near extinction and having to multiply like rabbits to keep population up (seriously, there was a law saying that females capable of being pregnant had to be pregnant at all times. they even figured out a way to turn males into hermaphrodites, just to keep up their numbers) someone got supremely pissed off, and remembered Dweeb. And this person (Who we'll call Ponce) went on a killing spree because he was so pissed off. And when people tried to execute him, he killed them too. So eventually, they gave up, and Ponce stopped killing people.

Then, when the Dreaded Season came and people were forced to mass-multiply again (and the males were real shits about it, they didn't like giving birth. Never mind the fact that they'd been letting the woman do it for god-knows how long), and lots more people were killed. Ponce got pissed off again, and went on another killing spree, getting even stronger. Eventually, the elders told him to go to the village Kazus and scope it out. No one had ever done that before, becuase monsters killed them, but Ponce was too dumb to remember that so he went.

Imagine how surprised all the gits back home were when Ponce returned, stronger than ever. Turns out he'd been strong enough to kill the monsters away from Ur, and had therefore survived. No one knew what to do. But then, after the _next_ Dreaded Season came Ponce's annual 'get pissed off and go on a killing spree' moment. It was at that time that two young mages (Who we'll call Prat and Twat) put a binding spell on Ponce and killed him, getting rid of the eternal shit that plagued Ur every year with his temper. And there was a bonus in it for the little twits; Prat and Twat found themselves each half as strong as Ponce had been."

"So then, Prat and Twat went on an expedition to Kazus. They killed a few hundred monsters and got stronger than Ponce ever had been. Then, when they came back, tons more people learned from Prat and Twat's example, and went into mobs. These mobs were made of three or four people each, since they didn't have enough people who weren't toddlers to make the mobs bigger. And so, each mob killed either Prat or Twat. They got stronger, killed out-of-town monsters, then got even _more_ strong. Then, when the Dreaded Season came, some of the mobsters survived, but not many. The survivors killed the people who were near death, and got even stronger. They eventually got so strong that people had to form mass mobs to kill them. These mass mobs held around six to nine people. The original Survivor Mobsters were so strong that every Mass Mobster became as strong as Prat had been after killing Ponce."

"And the circle went on, with more and more people getting strong, and more people surviving the Dreaded Season. In the end, there came a few people who were stronger than anyone else before. These people were surprised as hell when the Migration Monsters killed them, but then they came back to life. After tons of thinking, they figured out that really strong people came back to life when they were killed. They tested the theory by allowing people to kill them over and over, and they kept on coming back to life. The people who killed them still got experience though, and so they got as strong as the people they were killing."

" When the Dreaded Season came again, the newbies that had been killing the strong ones also came back to life when they were killed. It should be noted that when you die, you come back to life with a massive headache. So it ain't reccommended. But anyways, after they proved their theory, they allowed themselves to be killed by the weak people until everyone was strong. And so they defended Ur from the Migration Monsters without many people dying at all. That was how Ur was saved. Any questions?" The woman who'd been saying it all had been illustrating on the blackboard with chalk. Her illustrations for Ponce, Dweeb, Twat, and Prat were certainly...interesting.

A kid at the back of the classroom put up his hand, and answered. "What has this got to do with Graduation Day?" The woman sent him a dirty look. He seemed unaffected.

"This is Fighting School, brats. We've been training you on how to kill the teachers while getting as little injuries as you can. It's got everything to do with Graduation Day, because some of you lowlifes are fuck-up weaklings who can't even come back to life yet. We teachers are fed up with you shits, and we ain't gonna 'teach' you more than the years we hafta. Two of you have to get a _mentor_, meaning one of the strongest people in the village. This mentor will be giving ya _extra training_ because ya can't even some back to life. Jaika, Ryiin, I'm talking to you." A boy with aburn hair in the second-from-back row and a boy with dirty blond hair in the second row scowled. "Now, this mentor will probably be taking a friend with him, probably that mage he's so fond of. You should consider yerself lucky- you'll be taught by this guy in his teens, strongest person in the village. Dunno how he managed that, he's so young..." The teacher exited the classroom, muttering. She didn't bother to dismiss the class.

A minute later, Elder Topapa walked in.

"Good afternoon Elder Topapa." The class chanted automatically, the chorus bored and utterly devoid of any enthusiasm.

"Good afternoon, children. Now, what must we always remember about the Circle of Teachers?" He asked, smiling.

"The Circle of Teachers is instructed to allow us to kill them over and over, and so they are put in very bad moods from constant exposure to migraines." The class spoke in unison, verbatim.

"Good. Now, what must we remember about the language of the Circle of Teachers?" Elder Topapa asked again.

"The Circle of Teachers is prone to swear and curse every other sentence due to their bad tempers. No matter how interesting the words sound, we are not permitted to swear until the age of fourteen." The way every student said the sentences in perfect unison gave an air of a routine long practiced to perfection. They'd evidently had this hammered into their brains since day one. Suddenly, the orderly manner vanished from Elder Topapa's eyes, and a strange glint appeared in them.

"What must you remember about the Council of Elders?" There were collective sighs from the rest of the room.

"The Council of Elders are trusted with the records of the village, and understand how bad the Times of Dread were. Despite the village's constant prosperity, the Council are paranoid with regards to population, and so will do everything in their power to pair up each and every one of us." They said this in a monotone. Monotony did not seem appropriate for what they were saying.

"Good! Now, Fighting school is officially finished for your class. Please feel free to procreate like a brood of rabbits. Questions?" Jaika raised his hand. "Yes, Jaika?"

"We are thirteen. Are you sure that's an appropriate age for us to be procreating at?" He deadpanned. Elder Topapa smiled cheerfully.

"As long as both parties are physically mature, then why not? When nature gives us gifts, we must make the best of them!" The head elder did not miss the smirks exchanged by Jaika and Ryiin. "Anyway, class dismissed! Good luck! Oh- Jaika and Ryiin, stay behind." The class stampeded outside with foghorn voices, all cheering. Aside from the two boys who waited to be talked to. "Now, as you two cannot resurrect upon dying, you have been assigned a mentor who is incidentally the strongest in the village, despite his youth. It is up to him to decide how he trains you. He will probably have you camping just outside of the village, heading out from its safety every day for training. If supplies are needed, his friend will probably go back to the village and get them. Friend, meaning a companion that your mentor scarcely goes anywhere without. Understood?"

Jaika grinned, nodded, then turned to Ryiin. In a second, he'd tackled the other boy to the floor, hugging him cheerfully. Ryiin seemed alarmed. "We're gonna be so strong by the end of this!" Jaika bragged. Ryiin pushed him up, looking livid.

"Jaika, you idiot! No displays of affection in public!" He hissed. Topapa watched the exchange with confusion, which quickly morphed to full-faced delight.

"Oh, but you're _gay!_" Elder Topapa exclaimed, sounding delighted. Both boys froze, donning a deer-in-headlights look. They were clearly expecting something bad. "This is brilliant! there aren't enough gays in Ur nowadays- in the Times of Dread, half the village was gay. It's brilliant to see gayness re-emerging." The elder declared. the boys blinke din astonishment. "Now, boys. I have something important to tell you. If you discover any more gays, tell them too." The elder paused dramatically. "The teacher informed you of how men became hermaphrodites in order to populate the village?"

"What's a hermaphrodite?" Jaika asked in confusion.

"Someone with both male and female parts." Elder Topapa replied cheerfully, continuing despite the bulging eyes of those in front of him. "Now, this was done by some intensely skilled mages. I believe their job level was over sixty for every type of magery- truly impressive. But anyway, they created an aura upon this village that changed men in certain ways. However, it would only happen to a man who considered Ur his home. Any such man would become a hermaphrodite, so that if he were gay, he'd still be able to bear children. And so would his gay partner. And due to you two being residents of Ur, you are free to procreate like anyone else would." The elder grinned, then happily dismissed himself.

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"I can't believe I was dumped with apprentices!" Luneth complained to Arc. "Why couldn't someone else do it?" Luneth seemed to change opinions in a split-second, becuase he didn't even wait to be answered. "Ah, whatever. I'm not letting those kids kill me unless they can do it while I'm going all out. Otherwise, I'll just have them beat the crap out of various monsters. That should do the trick."

Arc wanted to ask a question, but didn't dare.

"The little buggers should be around here somewhere- hey, you! Are you apprentices?" Luneth pointed at two boys who were resting casually against a tree. they blinked.

"Yeah. Why'd you ask?" Asked a red haired one.

"I'm Luneth. And this is my best friend, Arc." Luneth pointedly did not notice his companion blush at such a simple thing as being called a best friend. "I'll be your mentor." Both boys stared.

"Holy shit, they weren't joking. He really is young." The red-haired one muttered to the blond one.

"Jaika, you're not supposed to be swearing until you're fourteen." The blond one reminded him.

"Who cares? If we're old enough to breed, I say we're old enough to swear." 'Jaika' shot back. Luneth cleared his throat. Both snapped their attention to him immediately. "Oh. Sorry. I'm Jaika, and this is Ryiin. Luneth shook hands with them. Arc timidly followed, being eyed curiously by the boys.

"Pleased to meet you. Now, boot camp starts now. We'll go to the edge of Ur's forest and camp there." Luneth decided.

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They did exactly that. Jaika and Ryiin observed with admirable perception the level at which Luneth and Arc worked. They'd obviously been camping many times before, otherwise they wouldn't have been so quick in setting the tents up. Both were large tents designed to hold two fully grown men, so there was plenty of space in there.

Luneth later had them fighting such bloody evil monsters that they were exhausted at the end of the day. But both boys were unnaturally observant, and so they noticed how well Arc and Luneth worked together. They also noticed how Arc blushed at nearly anything favourable from Luneth, and how Luneth looked at Arc. How Arc looked at Luneth, too. Though Arc's looking was mostly glances, for fear of being caught. Luneth seemed to have no such qualms, and tended to stare at Arc until he was spotted, at which point he'd look away seeming quite flustered.

And so, the boys had reached a conclusion. Their mentor and his friend were in love with each other, but neither knew it. They intended to resolve that.

Naturally, neither boy was very subtle, so while eating a few rabbits cooked over a fire, they were caught in the act of staring at Luneth over the fire, contemplating various plans.

"What?" Luneth snapped, seeming very irritated. They continued staring, though their faces twisted into a thoughtful expression.

"You're gay, aren't you?" Ryiin observed unexpectedly. Luneth _had not_ been expecting that. He promptly became very flustered, mouth opening and closing silently like a fish. Arc was staring at Luneth in astonishment, though a heavy blush covered his features. Luneth proceeded to turn slightly pink when he cast nervous glances at his friend. "It's nothing to be ashamed or afraid of. We're gay. What's more, we're gay together. And Elder Topapa all but ordered us to create children at the first oppourtunity." Luneth's face twisted in a strange way.

"You're boys. You can't make children." Luneth declared, disgruntled.

"Incorrect." Jaika chirped cheerfully. He'd successfully caught the attention of every male around the fire, so he continued. "Didn't you know? Every male who has reached maturity in Ur is capable of bearing children."

Arc made a squeak/eep noise, bright red and wide eyed. Luneth, looking extremely flustered, asked the question that was undoubtedly on their minds. "_Every male?_"

"Every last one. Well, anyone who isn't still a kid, anyway. Elder Topapa told us himself after he found out we were gay. Apparently, the effect from the Times of Dread still hasn't faded. Males having children was originally a last resort tactic, but nowadays whent he danger is long past... it revolutionises gays!" Ryiin proclaimed happily.

Luneth blinked. "Oh." He seemed to think for a second. "...How did you know I'm gay, anyway?" Identical devious smirks appeared on the faces of both boys. Their eyes flickered evilly from Arc to Luneth, then came to rest on the latter.

"We made certain..._observations._ Let me tell you, there couldn't be anything more obvious from what we've noticed." Ryiin cackled. Luneth reddened in the first proper blush anyone had ever seen on him. Arc stared, wondering what was capable of making Luneth blush.

"Tell anyone, and you'll be conveniently killed by a land turtle. I know just where to find one, too." Luneth threatened firmly. Jaika and Ryiin exchanged looks of disbelief.

"Whatever. We'll give you a week to say it yourself. I don't think we'll be able to live in the midst of the _tension._" Jaika drawled, making it very clear what sort of tension he was implying. Luneth snarled. Arc blushed, still completely oblivious.

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"You sure you can pull it off?" Ryiin questioned, concerned. Jaika grinned.

"Trust me! If there's one thing I can do well, it's prank spells. If things get too difficult, I'll use those matchmaking spells my mother tutored me on."

"Matchmaking spells? What do they do?"

"Nothing much. Just small things- like increased cuddlyness, less control over one's urges." Jaika replied casually, and Ryiin cackled with glee.

"Brilliant! Though I don't want to be around when you perform the latter- it'd probably end up in something quite drastic."

"...Huh? What do you mean, 'drastic'?" Jaika asked, completely oblivious.

"I mean that our mentor seems to be a complete pervert as well as gay." Jyiin explained. "Granted, some of his staring was directed at Arc in general, but a good amount of it was directed at his ass. I'd watch mine, if I were him. Who knows what would happen if that pervert's restraint was partially spelled away?"

"What _would _happen, do you think?" Jaika asked, curiously.

"Well, you obviously know that the spell version is a lot less powerful than an Impulse potion. If our dear mentor wants to molest his friend, but restrains himself, then your spell will probably make him incapable of not molesting, though he'd have partial restraint that would allow him to prevent himself from going too far." Ryiin replied distractedly. "Oh, and unlike with the potion, he'd remember everything." Ryiin added as an afterthought. "I did some research."

"Ah." Jaika smirked deviously. "Well, that'll be our last effort. Before that, we'll merely inspire some fluff. Agreed?"

"Agreed." They shook hands on it.

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Arc had a problem. He felt faintly sleepy, despite having had a full night's sleep. He had no idea why he'd feel so tired. It certainly made life harder for the day, but things got stranger after dinner. He and Luneth were by the fire. Luneth was daydreaming, staring at the stars, and Arc was reading. The apprentices had disappeared somewhere. It was a few seconds after realising that that Arc felt himself shuffling closer to Luneth.

...Why had he done that? Arc mentally shrugged. Ah well, couldn't really hurt, could it? He shuffled a little closer. And closer. Luneth didn't appear to notice until Arc was comfortably snuggled right against him, watching the fire with a contented sigh. _What are you doing, you idiot?!_ His mental voice screamed. _If Luneth thinks anything funny's going on- it's over! He'll never speak to you again! _ For the first time, Arc ignored that voice in his head. He was comfortable. It was nearing winter and it was chilly. Luneth was warm. Arc smiled slightly in affirmation of this thought, and proceeded to snuggle a bit more.­ Luneth was staring at him, but he didn't really care. Luneth wasn't pushing him away, was he? Granted, he was tensing a bit...but...still.

"...Arc?" Luenth questioned quietly. His voice had a slight faint tone to it. That small, contented smile still gracing his features, Arc didn't move.

"You're warm." Arc told him, voice soft and content. Luneth felt himself pinken slightly, but he didn't say anything. Arc didn't move...that was, until he collapsed agaisnt Luneth's chest a few minutes later, clearly asleep. Luneth hesitated, before pulling the cloak-like coat that he wore around Arc. _Guess i'll be sleeping like this._ Luneth thought to himself, shifting slightly so that he could lay back onto the grass comfortably, Arc not awakening. _This certainly isn't helping my inhibitions...but what the heck. I'm not complaining._ Luneth masterfully restrained himself from taking advantage of the situation, and fell asleep by the fire with a tightly snuggled Arc held protectively within his coat.

In the bushes, Jaika had to restrain himself from making a cooing noise. They were so cute! Instead, he turned and high-fived Ryiin.

"Good job, mate. Snuggle spell and sleepy spell combined. Brilliant."

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To say Arc was surprised when he woke up would be an understatement. The first thing he comprehended was that he was strangely warm. The second was that everything was dark, despite the birdcall he could hear. It was only a second later that he realised he was hugging something that was the source of the warmth. He appeared to be half on top of his organic heater, and being half-hugged securely by an arm complete with coat. Arc didn't take long to identify Luneth. Immediately, he tried to find a way to escape without waking Luneth- he'd probably be angry. Slowly, Arc remembered how the situation had been initiated. He blushed. What had he been thinking. Arc tried to shift, test the defenses of his enclosure of arm. The arm tightened ever so slightly at his movement, and Arc turned his eyes sidewards to notice one of Luneth's looking at him; half-lidded and sleepy.

Luneth gave a small smile. "Dun'need t' move, Arc..." Luneth told him, voice sleepy and rather muffled. "Stay." Luneth's hand, connected to the enclosing arm, gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, gently pulling Arc into closer proximity. Very close snuggling. So close that Arc's head was resting in the hollow of Luneth's neck. Arc was blushing rather badly. Why would Luneth willingly cuddle with _him?_ The most ordinary of people, too plain to be liked. Arc most certainly liked the closeness, but why was Luneth putting up with it?

Arc didn't take things for granted, no matter how unlikely they were. Feeling a strange peace of mind that he hadn't had since falling in love with Luneth, Arc drifted back to sleep comfortably. He faintly heard Luneth saying: "Day off today...go do whatever y' want..." Probably to the apprentices.

Luneth couldn't have known what a snuggle monster he'd inflicted on himself. He didn't see Jaika cast another snuggle-spell on Arc. And Arc promptly acted of his new urge to cuddle by doing exactly that, pressing himself closer to his love than he'd probably ever dare to be without sleepiness and a spell helping.

Luneth was personally glad that Arc was asleep before he got any indication of his _problem._ It tended to happen when snuggling so close to your undeniably hot beloved. He took deep breaths, and slowly managed to calm down. _Damn._ Luneth cursed himself. _Why do I have to be such a pervert?_

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When Luneth deemed it time to get up, he gently laid Arc down, and lit the fire to compensate for his abscence. He promptly left to go hunting and find the brats. He found them- and quickly left. They were taking the bloody elder's advice far too seriously.

x

A few days later, and nothing out of the ordinary had happened. At the fire side after dinner, Arc and Luneth had a tendancy to lean against each other, and once, acting on a hesitant burst of impulse, Luneth hauled Arc onto his lap and held his arms around his waist. The poor boy was hopelessly embarassed, though seemed very comfy once he got over it. Luneth was thankful for certain body parts to have behaved.

Luneth was dreading the end of the week. Those little brats were too confident for their own good, he had no doubt that they'd live up to their threat. And despite the recent chumminess with Arc, Luneth wasn't willing to risk losing him. So he couldn't bring himself to say anything himself.

Luneth had no idea that the apprentices wouldn't be telling Arc. No, they'd be casting a rather resourceful spell on Luneth instead. And naturally, a snuggle spell for Arc.

Ryiin and Jaika had fully accepted their status as perverts, and were therefore looking forward to Thursday night.

Come Thursday, Luneth was a nervous wreck. He had no idea what to do, other than sit by the fire in his usual area, pretending to daydream normally. He was not prepared for Arc to act as snuggly as he'd unusually been a few days ago, only he didn't fall asleep this time. Arc was simply snuggled against Luneth for a while, until said silver-haired boy relaxed, his nervousness evaporating slowly. It was when he was no longer on-edge that something bad happened. The urges that he restrained practically every minute of the day were suddenly much harder to restrain. _You can do this! _He told himself savagely. _Don't you bloody dare take advantage of him!_

It was not to be. The unfortunate urge amplifier snapped some of the restraints on the less...demanding ones. Feeling his body possessed by the impulses, Luneth dreaded what would happen, but naturally anticipated it quite a lot. He cursed his inability to control himself and he pulled Arc onto his lap, ignoring the sudden squeak from the teen. Feeling that inevitable lust rising like a black tide within him, Luneth struggled and failed to prevent being swept away. With a low growl, Luneth lightly nibbled the skin of Arc's upper neck, feeling the boy freeze up, utterly dumbfounded. Lust didn't care. Lust never did. The small kiss-nibbles continued around the boy's jawline, and spurred on by the shivers, Luneth gently pushed Arc's face towards him, capturing the startled fighter's lips in a full kiss.

Arc didn't understand what was going on. One minute he'd been pulled onto Luneth's lap, and next that precariously gentle nibble on his _neck!_ That was when he froze up. What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to think? All he could get around his confused knot of a brain was that Luneth was doing things to him, and they felt _good._ However muddled, Arc's brain was capable of recognising a kiss, and when Luneth did exactly that, Arc's brain went into overdrive. Possibly, best scenario, Luneth returned his feelings, and this was his way of saying it. But why would he suddenly come onto him like that? It was a bit...abrupt.

But who cared? Arc was reveling; this sort of thing had only happened in his dreams. He intended to take and appreciate everything that Luneth gave. He didn't know why it was happening, he didn't know _how_ it was possible for such light touches to cause such reactions, and he had no idea what would follow. Luneth seemed to be fully intent on answering his last question, though. His hold became hungry, ravaging every inch of his prey without mercy. Arc shivered, gasped, and groaned quietly into the touches, lost in a strange bright haze of passion. Luneth's touch ran down, down...

_Bloody_ hell. Was he really...?

Arc's shuddering gasp answered for him. Yes. Luneth most certainly was. For the first time, Arc saw something adamant behind the lust in Luneth's eyes. Guilt. "I'm sorry." Luneth whispered, completely sincere. "I don't know why...my inhibitions are tearing down. I can't control myself. I'm..._sorry..."_ Arc blushed. He'd been so...busy...that he'd forgotten to blush.

"I-It's okay." Arc whispered, his voice changing pitch in strange ripples. "Y-you s-shouldn't be s-_sorry_...I...like..." His voice trailed off, becoming breathless. A strange gint appeared in Luneth's eyes.

"Like it?"

"Y-Yes..." Arc avoided saying anything else in favour of a gasp. Arc identified the now predatory gleam in his love's eyes.

"Then you won't mind if things go a little...further?" Luneth whsipered into his ear, voice a sensual hiss.

Arc studied the look in Luneth's eyes. God, it didn't matter if he'd mind or not- it was practically compulsory for things to go 'further', as Luneth had said. Good job he didn't mind in the first place.

"No."

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While anyone else would have left at that point, Jaika and Ryiin were far too peverted to even consider it, and so stayed for some 'inspiration'.

Yes, there were three very happy perverts that night.


End file.
